The Day the Earth Moved for Mark...

It is not what you're thinking!! Late this summer, I was working in my office and went downstairs to ask my husband a question. He looked up and said, "Did hear that boom and feel the earth move?" "Nope...what are you talking about?" We soon discovered the earth had moved so much that we had no water in our house! So what happened?

Google Fiber happened!

Have you had Google Fiber in your neighborhood? You are lucky if you haven't...they arrived unannounced months ago to dig up the easement in front of every house all the way down the street. The end result was ugly orange wrapped cable sticking above ground for months. What an eye sore...they even left a hole unfilled that my husband stepped into that could have broken his leg. We were never given a heads up as to when they would return. Suddenly after months they reappeared this summer going from house to house cutting a line of concrete out of the road to lay the orange tubing and then covering the hole with a gray concrete that doesn't come close to matching the road concrete.

The infamous day that the earth moved, the team hired by Google to install their fiber were cutting the concrete when they cut the waterline to our house! Everyone else had water....we had nothing! I had planned to cook all day for a birthday party. I headed outdoors to see what had happened. A team of three from the Google group and soon after 5 more men arrived from Metro water....it wasn't a good situation....I was out of water for the entire day! We had two massive truck that came and blocked the road in order to figure out how to resolve the issue. Thank goodness for my neighbors across the street who had a circular drive so our neighbors at the dead end were able to get in and out of our street to do what they needed to do. The Metro Water team was awesome and worked diligently until dusk to get our water back on!.

Everyone left...but the road has not been fixed since August. Clearly, it is the responsibility of the group that Google hired who caused the damage. Someone poured rocks in the hole, but it is very unsightly. None of us on the street asked for Google fiber and yet we now have it and a street that looks a mess. Why can't companies take pride in their work and clean up after the mess that they create. Metro Water did an awesome job and cleaned up after themselves!

Our side of the street Our neighbors side of the street

My Determined Big Daddy...

I imagine that most of us can recall where we were 20 years ago today. A colleague and I had been in Washington D.C. for a conference. She had flown home on an early flight back to California which was an absolute blessing as I look back. I was in a meeting room with several hundred attendees when we were interrupted with the news of the Twin Towers attack in New York City. The meeting was immediately stopped and a mass exodus made out of the conference room. Due to the location of our hotel, one of the attendees in our group witnessed the attack on the Pentagon from the window in his hotel room.

I remember hearing all the sirens going off around the city and all the limos departing from the area trying to evacuate important people. My first thought was to get out of D.C., I simply wanted to be home with my family, if our country was under more attacks. It was impossible to make a mobile call. I didn't have the ability to text as I didn't think is was a necessity to have on my phone. That was a huge mistake. It took forever to get a call out and I knew that my father would be frantic knowing that I was in D.C.. I decide to stand in the long line at the Hertz counter in the hotel...The line was so long that when the one person finished renting a car, the phone was passed to the next person in line. I was able to get a rental, but unable to get a taxi to get to the lot which was about 12 blocks away so I decided to walk. (Was I nuts!?) It was sheer chaos in the city. Cars, taxis were flying everywhere! I was stopped seven blocks into my walk by the mounted police who told me I had to return to the hotel as there was another bomb threat where I was going. My dad had left half a dozen messages to give him a call...I was trying... along with thousands of other people! I finally reached one of my children to let them know that I was ok and returning to the hotel. All flights had been cancelled and the highways were at a standstill. I knew of people that bought large SUVs to drive with their colleagues back to California. Those of us unable to leave sat in the bar all day and into the late evening watching the news.

How great it is when a parent comes to the recuse! My father wouldn't rest until he found a way to get me home. I spent the night in the hotel...now down to the bare-bones staff which we could all understand. My daddy...Big D as I named him years earlier came to my rescue. He knew many working in D.C. and one of his friends was there on business. He and another colleague picked me up the next morning to return to home. It was indeed a long drive due to the large exodus from D.C.. I learned something special on this trip home... God can take the worst situations and bring a blessing into the mix. These men were on the board of a local ministry in Nashville. As a result of this long ride home...I was blessed to learn of this ministry Family Affair Ministry in east Nashville, which I continue to be involved with today. Today is a day to remember and pray for all the families that lost a loved one in New York and D.C.

I learned much from that frightening experience. What I know is that God is always with me and if I can rest in his presence when chaos abounds I have all that I need. I had my father and my Heavenly Father looking after me.

• God is always with me. - Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strenghten you and I will help you.

God bless America and keep us safe.