Learning and Living Wiser

I'm floundering a bit. Still recuperating from our area's worst, most destructive disaster in 137 years of record-keeping.

Last night the D.J. on our local news station (a funny guy normally) said that, after receiving so many calls during the storm-survival call-in shows, he thinks most of us are going through a grieving process. We've lost 13 people, thousands of trees and the secure feeling we once had inside our homes (many families had trees crash through their roof, or their basements flooded, or electrical wires pulled from their houses or lost their electricity anywhere from 3 - 8 days).

I thought, "Yes! That would explain why I've just been sort-of wandering around my house, unable to step back into the pattern of my days and feeling sad for what appears to be no definitive reason.

I've not told you about the deaths, but since two of you mentioned using Coleman stoves, I just have to say this--Of the 13 storm-related deaths in our area, 8 were due to carbon monoxide poisoning. And actually, there were over 230 non-fatal cases of carbon monoxide poisoning reported by area hospitals. These sad cases happened because people used their gas kitchen stoves to heat their homes (the biggest cause of poisoning), or they didn't place their generators far enough away from their houses or they put them inside an attached garage (even with all the garage doors opened, that's still dangerous).

In one case, an elderly (91) tenant and his landlady died because they actually brought their generator inside their house and placed it in a downstairs hallway.

Our local news radio station over and over told people not to do those things. And perhaps I shouldn't even share these stories, but maybe they can help save lives.

One man died while shoveling the snow in his driveway beneath a tree which his wife kept telling him didn't appear to be safe. She helped him clear the driveway awhile then (begged) him to come inside the house with her and leave the rest of the snow till later. But he wouldn't listen to her and said he'd be in soon. Well, a huge branch fell on him. His wife, from the window, saw it happen, and she and the neighbors pulled off the branch from him, but it was too late. 

In the newspaper report she sounded so angry and frustrated because it didn't need to happen-- he could have shoveled later when it was safe (there was no place to go and businesses were closed anyway) and he hadn't listened to her concerns. I exactly knew and understood her same frustration--many has been the time when Tom gets it into his head to do something and there's just NO stopping him, no matter what I say or do.

Sigh.

Then today an elderly man died from injuries suffered from a fall from a ladder two days ago. Sigh. Elderly people and ladders--no! Don't risk it. 

People have helped each other like crazy and the 2,500+ electrical workers from out-of-state have aided people in neighborhoods, too. Had this older man asked (or kept asking), I'm certain he could have found someone to climb the ladder for him.

Such heartbreaking happenings, especially when it hits so close to home. There is a sense of grief very heavy in the air surrounding all of us.

But three days ago I finally got out of the house and over to the supermarket and as I stood at the check-stand I looked all around me at the people from my town. And I suddenly felt very proud of them.

In the 13 years I've lived here we've all experienced lots of record-breaking storms (though this one was by far the biggest) and still, our people bounce back. They allow storms to toughen them and make them wiser so that they deal with the next ones, better. 

They become stronger, not bitter and crushed and that's partly why I love living here.

And now I'm giving myself a break during this time of grieving, taking  time away and being gentle with myself. And chalking this up to yet another thing on the list which will help me be more sympathetic toward others who are going through something similar---

---so that I'll be able to give them something more than just a quickly-quipped Bible verse and a "God bless you." Any time I can allow hardships to mold me into a more compassionate person, my heart becomes larger and better able to give to others in their time of need, giving them I wish others would've done for me. For us.


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