Today I came back to my house by myself after dropping Tom off at work for a few hours. We are staying on campus, and he works across from Gordon-Palmer, so my route was down Hackberry, then right on Hargrove, and then left into The Downs, where we live (just before the intersection with 10th Ave.).
I KNOW how lucky I am to be alive and to still have a home to return to. But what saddened me this morning was that we have lost so much of Tuscaloosa. All those glorious trees and homes along Hargrove. Alumni and fans passing through for 60 years have driven past those same trees and homes. Even the apartments have been here for 40 or so years, and you can talk to alumni across generations who all lived/partied there. Gone. My uncle and aunt used to walk through my shady neighborhood when they were dating 30 years ago, and now there are only a few scraggly trees standing. And some of the homes are beyond repair.
We will rebuild our home and bounce back and move forward, but even those of us who didn't lose everything have lost an awful lot. I'm having to come to terms with it being OK to feel this sense of loss while knowing how lucky I am. It doesn't cheapen the losses of people who have lost everything for me to feel overwhelmed with sadness.
--Jennifer
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