As many of you may have heard, Todd's parents, Nita and Terry, are from Paradise and were evacuated on November 8 in the Camp Fire. On the morning of November 8, they saw a cloud of black smoke coming in. They gathered a few things and some memorabilia as the heard the sound of propane tanks exploding.  They left quickly and safely and drove to Chico, hoping to "wait out" the evacuation in the Barnes and Noble parking lot, thinking they would be going home soon. They soon realized they wouldn't be going home that day. They decided to go to Todd's brother's home in Roseville. Despite leaving Paradise at 9am, they didn't arrive to Roseville until 730pm given all of the road closures and detours. By that point, they had no idea the extent of the fires and how devastating they had become in a short few hours. Upon arriving at their son Kory's house, he had to break the news that the town had been devastated. The family spent the weekend trying to find out information about the state of their home while reports kept pouring in about more devastation and loss. There was the vacillation of hearing reports that the home was standing, partially destroyed, fully destroyed but nothing clear cut as no one can go back in at this point. Three days ago, we got confirmation from a neighbor who stayed behind and was able to report with no uncertainty that the house is completely gone.

Terry and Nita have had their fair share of hardships in their lives. In the 22 years that I have been a part of their family, I have always known them to be so calm, resilient and graceful even when life brings them the toughest challenges, and this has been no different. They have always been able to look at life's hardest obstacles and see it through the lens of gratitude. Gratitude for family, gratitude for friends, and fortune for the things they do have. They are mourning the lost memories, their home of 49 years, the small items that can't be replaced. Yet, they continue to show resiliency and grace in this hard time in which their future is uncertain and they are faced with the arduous task of rebuilding their lives.

In the days after evacuation, Terry and Nita spent many sleepless nights thinking of all of the things that were lost, the items they forgot to grab. This is a home that was in the family for 50 years, that Todd's grandfather built. Nita thought of the quilts her mother had made, the baby clothes her grandmother had knitted, her Joan Baez song book given to her in high school that she still practiced music with. However, some degree of relief came in when we got the news of the house being gone. The loss if great but having some closure to be able to start moving forward was a great relief.

Todd moved up to Paradise when he was in the 8th grade, his younger brother Ryan was in 3rd grade and his big brother Kory was in high school. I have heard the many stories of the boys there. In my own memories, I recall the first time I went to Paradise to meet Todd's family. And I met ALL of them; aunts, uncles, cousins! And what ensued was typical for Todd's family, a gathering on the front lawn with people grabbing their instruments and his uncles and cousins playing the guitar, ukulele and fiddle to the tune of Nita's beautiful voice. Every visit to see his parents we ended up on that front lawn with the boys playing football in the yard. I always enjoyed the quiet of visiting. We would take long walks down the country road and if we did see a car, it was always someone smiling and waving. I remember taking a walk and the neighbor coming by with her horse and Porter and his cousin Georgia getting up on the horse, not something a city kids get to do too often! Todd's grandfather had made a number of wood toys that the boys loved to play with. We were supposed to go this Thanksgiving and when we told the kids we would not be going up, Nolan said "but they have the best toys!" More than anything, this was a true family home. While fire has destroyed objects, it has not destroyed our memories.

Todd and I have had an outpouring of love and support; old friends reaching out and asking about his parents, people remembering Todd's hometown and asking about the welfare of him and his family. We continue to ask his parents what they need and they continuously turn us down (typical!!!). Anyway, I write this to update everyone who has reached out. I also write this because many of you have asked for how to help. We were hesitant to set up a site but know that there is a lot to be done in the coming months and would appreciate any support for those that want to contribute.

Thank you everyone again for all of the positive thoughts and love sent to all of the fire victims in this devastating and truly tragic time. Human kindness has proved the winner here with an outpouring of love, thoughts, prayers, and aid from all over. It's the beautiful silver lining.