Dear friends,

It is with the heaviest heart that I write this letter. Here in central Texas we are mourning the lives of so many dear ones swept away in the tragic floods over the past weekend. For the past few days we have woken with anxious hearts as the death toll has risen and we feel the deepening pain of this devastation. As a parent I cannot fathom the gut-wrenching news that the families of missing children are facing this week. As a member of this community, I am struck by how connected we all are in this grief. The area ravaged by the floods is some of the most pristine and peaceful land in this part of Texas. Families from the surrounding cities escape to these rivers to be with nature and to soak up its healing energy. Children for generations have attended various camps in the area, cherishing their time there and making lifelong friends along these normally peaceful waters.

This kind of disaster hits home for us for so many reasons: because the precious lives cut far too short look like our own children, and because in these perilous moments we understand the fragility of our relationship to the natural world. It strikes me how we can be in one moment revived and healed by gently flowing streams, and in the next we are at its mercy for our very survival. I do not have many words in this moment of despair and anguish, but I’ve already witnessed the hope that comes from neighbors drawing near to one another and extending loving arms of care and compassion. I’ve included several resources below for people hoping to contribute in some way to the recovery of this community. There are specific links for locals to participate in volunteering and for those of you reading from other parts of the country to donate to these efforts from afar. We are also donating 25% of WAYWAY sales to these recovery initiatives. Please participate as you feel called. At the very least I hope you take this moment to hold your little ones close and linger at bedtime a few extra minutes tonight. Together we can find infinite gratitude for the gifts of family and loved ones and move toward collective hope and care.

With love and a grieving heart,

Liz

At WAYWAY we’re thinking about the earth and our relationship to it- the textiles that we use are gentler on the earth and require less resources to process. When we slow down and consider what we consume and how it affects our ecosystem, we soften and understand that we are all interconnected and our survival depends on the survival of the earth. When we pay attention to our impact- on the earth and on others– we can draw closer to one another in community.