Nothing feels the same after a catastrophic event. The colorful looks washed out. The vibrant becomes dingy. What was once routine, going to the school, becomes complicated. Learning no longer takes precedence. When students return to school on Monday we are having an activity schedule, so we can spend some time in the morning block to just talk and reassure our students. We have 10 teachers who have been displaced due to major flood damage. We have many students who have been relocated for the same reason and many new students entering our school because they are now living with family members. Things will feel and look very different. It feels like a tear in the fabric of space and time. Yes, I am a huge Whovian (Dr. Who) fan and the aftermath of Harvey feels very much like a blending of two worlds: one shiny and active, the other in slow-motion, every new action trailing behind the last.
The Doctor never runs away from a challenge, well sometimes he does from danger, but he always returns to fight the inevitable battle. He charges in while everyone else is fleeing. First responders, volunteers, neighbors all became heroes during and after Harvey. A week later, the focus may have changed nationally, but locally Houstonians, Texans, are rebuilding, donating, selflessly doing everything they can to help one another get back on their feet. The focus for me Monday will not be on the hurricane but on the coming together of a community to stay Texas strong, Katy strong. That is the beauty of America, we come together, regardless of class, race, nationality and simply stitch the tear, sew the holes and tighten the gap. Through our diversity and cultural beauty we create a quilt of unity and strength that even the most cruelest of situations can't destroy. Physically we are worn and battered but we are overcoming hardship and from the ashes of despair we are taking flight. T.A.R.D.I.S. or not, our hearts are bigger on the inside.
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