Love Thy Neighbor

One of the many diatribes I have been on in the past has been the fact that we are all too busy to care for one another. I have to eat my words. There are wonderful people out there; some are right next door, some are total strangers.

The last 72 hours here in my little world have proven me wrong. The Kitsap Peninsula was hit with a punch that included freezing temperatures, high winds and snow. Although the snow wasn't a lot, the other two wallops created ice rinks on every road and caused major powers outages--55,000 homes without heat and lights. I was at school on day one--the snow was starting to fall, phones were ringing off the wall, and the staff were kicking into high gear for a day of chaos. My school staff is fantastic! Many braved icy roads and cars travelling at zero mph to get to school. They greeted the children and prepared to have school. Meanwhile the office was slammed and we had everything from police and rescue crews helping a family who had been in an accident outside the school driveway to our principal spending the day on the playground to help in freezing weather while children played. The phones never stopped. The parents came in a steady stream to take their children home. One of our staff members shifted her schedule to help in the office the entire day. Oh--I forgot to mention that our receptionist/records secretary was out sick. I watched firemen and paramedics carefully help the family in the accident get to doctors and home. It was just the beginning.

As the day wore on, the school population dwindled and the snow blew in puffs as the wind churned. It didn't look good. School continued until the end of the day and our buses, although late, finally arrived. We had to load on the street due to an icy parking lot. One of our teacher's husband, an off-duty school custodian in our district, came with shovel in hand and began to work on the sidewalks so children and parents could walk without skidding and sliding. Another teacher took broom in hand and swept off the cars in the parking lot, installed chains on several cars, pushed a few out of the driveway and wore a smile the whole time while ice crystals formed on his uncovered head. Still, the phones rang.

The stories were changing. Now, parents were frantically trying to get to school to pick up the few students remaining to save them the long bus ride home. The families were stuck in traffic jams that extended for miles in every direction. Some hadn't moved an inch in two hours. Again, the staff kicked in to high gear after a very long day. Children were gathered by bus groups and escorted safely to awaiting buses. Day care children were kept for parents while teachers and staff played games, provided snacks and lots of reassurance that they would be safe until their families arrived. Oh--the teacher who wielded the broom, he gave me a ride home because my little Miata was not designed to handle the icy roads ahead. The commute is normally 12 minutes--it took one hour. Again, people were helping people. No one was impatient or rude, we were in this together.

Shortly after arriving safely at home, our power went out. There was a little scramble for the emergency stash--flashlight, kerosene lamp, candles, matches, water. Then we hauled out the blankets and assessed the canned goods. A peanut butter sandwich was dinner. The cat was fed and after donning pajamas, robe and slippers, I got under the covers to read by flashlight until closing my eyes. The cat was good company not to mention a wonderful heater.

The next morning our wonderful maintenance man was busy shoveling the walkways of our condo. No hesitation or grousing, he checked every building and took care with a smile. The downstairs neighbor had a butane stove going and made me tea and we had a wonderful neighborly chat while looking at the beautiful snow capped mountains. Then it was upstairs to check on my good friend and neighbor.

Out came the fondue pot and her gel fuel to heat water for coffee. It took awhile and I watched the pot too much, but eventually we shared the brew and told stories about other storms we had survived over the years. It was quite a site--we had so many layers of clothing on that we both resembled the Michellin Man. My toes never did warm up! As the "Tea" neighbor downstairs was leaving to help a friend, he offered his butane stove so we could cook our evening feast. No hesitation--just kind and giving. My neighbor and I spent the day in front of her fireplace, rearranged her living room furniture (another story), and later we cooked a meal of homemade soup and frittata!

As I left, with a down comforter in hand to help ward of the chill of the night ahead, I was warmed by all the memories of loving neighbors and strangers. My power came on in the early morning hours. Total strangers came from Idaho, Oregon, and Eastern Washington to help our crews throughout the freezing nights. There are many still without electrical power and stuck at home with cars abandoned on the roads, but our community spirit was active and generous. Thanks for the reminder that we are not yet too calloused and self-centered that we have forgotten how to love our neighbor. I'll keep it in mind, not just on the stormy days, but hopefully throughout the year.

Honor and Remember

November is a time for thankfulness and I can't think of anything more to be thankful for than freedom. The month begins with honoring men and women who have served, died, and are actively fighting in a war far from their homes and families. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, total strangers can raise a flag, say a prayer, shake the hand of a veteran. These are small gestures, but when you have fought without home, hearth and loved ones at your side, the smallest things become the most important.

I have friends and acquaintances who are awaiting any word about their loved one. There are children going to school everyday and celebrating birthdays without their mom or dad because they are in 115 degree heat helping others build schools, protect their families from terriorists, and endure hardships that most of us will never experience. We can all be thankful that men and women of this country continue to choose to serve others. Remember them today, but honor them everyday. Share their families' burdens, step in to help with a hug, a meal, a phone call. Freedom belongs to us all--do your part.

Fresh Start

Do you ever ask the question. "What happened to the time?" I'm sitting here in my jammies and wondering where the month of September went. I know I was living and breathing, but everything is a blur. School started, a new class of kindergartner's got their first experience in a new, larger world of doors, rooms, large bodies, crowded halls, noise, and schedules. New teachers set up classrooms, books were checked out for the first time, homework went home, lunches were made, phone calls were answered, children were lost and then found, and everything had a hum that sometimes was pleasant and other times annoying. A new start of the school year is both exciting and overwhelming for everyone. A fresh start feels the same way. The old month gives way to the new and with it, it's own hum complete with swells, pitch, and energy. October will settle in, having found a footing in September, and we will start a more leisurely rhythm. Those kindergarteners have learned how to get from point A to B, the new teacher has survived the first hectic days and is planning for first conferences, many of the questions about lunches, buses, and schedules have been answered, and a routine is forming in the homes of families. Hopefully, October will be more of a saunter rather than a sprint. After all, we have nine more months until the finish line. I hope your fresh starts are energizing and help you with the longer journey ahead.

Technology Tangles

Wouldn't you know it. Just when I want to begin a new adventure, writing my blog, something comes along to snarl up the process. This time it was technology. I recently experienced the dreaded "hard drive crash", and the results were not pretty. Of course, the vehicle of choice was my seven year old laptop. In computer age, that's an old dog. I am not a geek, more of a dork, when it comes to being able to diagnose problems, but this death was obvious. I saw all the signs--slow awakening, loss of memory, sputtering when trying to operate. I know this sounds more like me when I wake up in the morning, but it really was my computer. Well, after all the symptoms occurred for about a week, it finally sighed it's last and I had to go into rehab while I went through the stages of grief. It looked something like this:

• Denial--What! This can't be happening! I can't afford another computer!
• Anger--I know it happened on purpose. The cosmos is against me! That machine is evil!
• Let's Make A Deal--Look, God. You know I have the best of intentions with my plan to manage my debt. Could you make a way for this new financial need and I'll write something really great about you.
• Depression--There is no life. I don't know what to do. I'll have to write--with paper and pen. I hate my life.
• Acceptance--Okay. It won't be forever. I'll wait until the income tax return comes in February.
• A Sale--You guessed it. I found a new laptop, great sale, and won't have to pay interest. I can pay it off in February and am back to the blog.

The truth of the matter is, it was only a week, but in today's world I have fallen like the rest of us into the belief that I can't survive without my cell phone, laptop, Skype, Internet, etc. I'm not as technologically bound as some, but neither am I unshackled by our modern devices. During the week, I read more, thought more, visited with my neighbor more, and spent time with my cat more. I slowed down and that wasn't so bad. I gained some perspective and I hope that I will carry that with me into the future with my new laptop. I appreciate the advantages of technology and hope that I have renewed my memory when it comes to valuing the slower pace without them.

Saturday Mornings

Ahh...sleeping in until the cat begins his subtle pats to my face and his non-stop treble of a purr. Saturday mornings are a day to snuggle in the warm bed of the night before, let my mind drift and reflect upon my now hazy dreams, and do NOTHING. There is security in the sheets, so to speak. You haven't been bombarded by the day's agenda and you are drifting between the two worlds of sleep and awake. It is a gentle time and a slower pace.

Even when I do put feet to floor, the cadence of the time snuggling stays with me. A sip of coffee, and leisurely breakfast with fresh, hot pancakes and syrup, staring out the window to gauge the weather for the day. All are unhurried and unfettered by schedules and lists. I wish I could take the feelings of a Saturday morning into the week. Life would be slower and more reflective. Who knows, maybe more meaningful things would be accomplished.

New Habit

I am not disciplined and hate pushing myself to do something. That's what trying to write creatively feels like right now. Struggling with the control freak in me to let loose and see what happens is HARD. The child who may have once had a free spirit has been stiffled and conformed for way too long. I want to let her out and loose on the page. Writing on a daily basis seems insurmountable right now. All the words that I want to flow onto the pages are held behind a stockade built by work and the dreaded priorities. Hopefully, when school gets started and I don't have to think of all the minutae of getting things set up, the gates will open again and I will be able to step out and dance in creativity again.

One of the blogs I've been following said to write something--don't take your fingers off the keys. Well, that is what has happened in this one, for sure. Not pretty, not great, but the fingers did not come off and I wrote something today that had nothing to do with work.

Disconnect

Today was a bit of a disconnect for me. It started calmly enough with a leisurely morning...sleeping in, time to actually curl the hair instead of putting it in a pony tail, and a nice drive to our annual office managers meeting. The hours missed at school trickled away and the more the meeting drug on, the more disconnected I felt. The lists in my head became jumbled and out of order. I needed to connect with my school and all that was going on to get ready for meetings and hundreds of kids and their families who would eagerly flood the hallways and classrooms in a few days. This time of year is usually like that for me. The rhythm of summer is so much more leisurely and free of the urges to "connect" with lists and projects. It takes awhile to get to the free flowing rhythm and the connected state of mind of the school year again. In the end, I really do like the ebb and flow, the  hysteria and unbalance that the new school year brings is brief. It always "connects" by October and then, like the seasons, the rhythm is established and I am balanced once again.

Beads...

Recently my best friend Mishele taught me how to make a little beaded bracelet. You have to understand, I have a bit of crafting ADHD. I glom onto something and dizzily want to spend hours for a few days and then I get distracted with something else...like writing a blog. Anyway, the time learning to bead was fun, but the real value was in the way two friends could sit quietly while creating. Occasionally, there would be words, but the comfort came from knowing that the other was there. The beads represented our shared moments filled with encouragement in hard times, laughter and silliness, and companionship that has survived long separations and distance. I'll probably remember Mishele everytime I make a bracelet and treasure our day on the porch. It will be catalogued with many others and it will circle my heart much like the finished bracelet.