Helping Ourselves
“[S]ome kind of help is the kind of help
That helping’s all about”
– Shel Silverstein
…
In November 1997, my house burned down.
Well, to be accurate, my sister’s and my apartment burned up. (We were living in a four-plex at the time and the other units only suffered smoke and water damage.)
It happened in the middle of the night and it was unexpected and traumatizing.
It happened the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and certainly destroyed all of our plans. Not just our plans for hosting our friends for an apartment-cooked meal, but our plans for feeding ourselves and our pets, our plans for going to work, our plans for … well, having plans.
In the middle of the chaos of a personal disaster event, the first thing to go out the window is planning.
My glasses were gone, my clothes were gone. My sense of safety and stability were gone.
…
But, fortunately, I was there. My sister and our pets were there.
And, my family, friends and a number of charitable organizations and businesses were there.
Those people and companies helped us put the pieces back together.
…
I learned a lot about what I value and what I don’t from that experience.
Most important, I learned that people will help.
Even people who don’t know you or have never met you. These people will still make sure you have food and clothes (and glasses!) and a place to eat and sleep.
(When I quit my job and went back to school, this life lesson helped me find the courage.)
I learned I want to be someone who helps, too. Even people I don’t know.
…
Please consider donating to an organization assisting the survivors of Hurricane Sandy.
(I did it here because they made it easy.)
