Parenting Through the Storm
As I sit here, exhausted, nursing our baby while listening to the raspy cough of our son from the next room, my mind is a swirl of thoughts. On one side, there's the immediate, relentless reality of being a parent—making sure the kids are fed, bathed, comforted through colds, and gently rocked to sleep. On the other side, there's the hurricane—Hurricane Helene—that has blown through our lives and the town of Chimney Rock, NC, leaving destruction in its wake.
Four of our hotels are gone. Demolished. Just like that. Structures we spent years building, nurturing, watching grow—wiped out in a matter of hours. The community around them—people we know, care for, and have shared so many moments with—are now facing unimaginable hardship. Their homes, livelihoods, and sense of stability have been shaken to the core. Matt and I wake up (well, we’re not really sleeping…) every day with this weight on our chests, ask ourselves, "How do we rebuild? How do we help? How do we hold space for this loss while still showing up for our kids?"
But here’s the strange thing we’ve realized: it's those small, everyday parenting demands that keep us grounded. In the midst of devastation, tending to a coughing child at 2 a.m. or nursing the baby reminds us of the simplest, purest love. It’s an anchoring force, the mundane moments of parenting that pull us back from the brink of overwhelm. These little bodies depend on us, not caring about the hurricane or the hotels or the damage. All they know is that they need their parents. They need comfort. And somehow, in the chaos, we find comfort in them too.
We’re lucky—so incredibly lucky—that we still have our home, that we’re able to be here as a family. I’m so grateful for that. There are families in Chimney Rock who don’t have that luxury right now. Many are without homes, without basic essentials, and facing a very long road to recovery.
So, in the spirit of doing what we can, we’ve set up a crowdfunding effort to support the people in Chimney Rock who are in desperate need. The funds will go directly to help the community get overlooked essentials as soon as possible, and assist those who have lost their livelihoods. We can’t rebuild everything overnight, but we can start by showing up for them in this moment of need.
Please consider donating to help the people of Chimney Rock, NC: https://gofund.me/1da7b852
We’re navigating so much right now, as parents, as business owners, as members of a devastated community. But through it all, we have each other, and we’re going to keep showing up for the people we care about—both here in our home, and in the community we love.
With love and gratitude,
Emily Nolan
