Blessed

This past week has been one of the most emotional and stressful weeks I have had in a long time.

Last Sunday hurricane Sandy made its way up the East Coast and delivered destruction New York and New Jersey have never before seen. I, like many others, assumed the news weather teams were blowing smoke to boost ratings. As the storm approached I began to quickly realize this storm was not a joke. I went to the grocery store for a few last minute items, got all of my candles together along with flashlights and an emergency bag. My husband left for a few hours to check on his grandfather and frankly I was petrified. People, my friends, were being evacuated from parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and the south shore of Long Island. People in my town. Where were these people supposed to go? How scary it must be to leave your homes not knowing if it would be there when you return. The wind whipped trees back and forth violently and whistled like I had every window open in my apartment. I went to bed on Sunday waiting for the worst to start. Sunday turned into Monday and then into Tuesday. I emerged with my husband from our apartment on Tuesday afternoon to access the damage. Our power went out as well as cell phone coverage so we had no idea what was going on outside beyond our window. We immediately saw downed trees and power lines. Not too alarming considering Long Island usually gets at least 1 bad storm a year that is good for causing some minor destruction. We ventured to my mother's house where she had power and a television.

Entire parts of this island are gone. Out to sea. The images of the Seaside Heights and Coney Island are absolutely devastating. 7 people I work with lost everything. Everything. A coworker came to work without a bra because all she had were the clothes on her back. Another coworker is 9 months pregnant and lost her home and its contents right after her baby shower last Saturday. My sister's mother in law lost her entire first floor and everything in it. All of her family photos, furniture, clothes... all gone.

Not having gas for my car sucks. Not having electricity in my home sucks too. I feel so blessed. Blessed that my family is safe. Blessed that I didn't lose anyone or anything. People complain the crews aren't moving fast enough to restore their power. I can't bring myself to complain about any of it. This tragedy is so much bigger than me and my seemingly trivial stresses.

New Yorkers are a strong breed. Its hard to break us. We will recover and we will be stronger. 

Tomorrow I am going to help with the clean up at my sister's mother-in-law's home. My office has started a collection of clothes, batteries, blankets, toiletries, ect. for our work family members who have lost everything. We can all help in a small way and it will make a big difference. As cliche as that sounds I can actually understand what it means now.

I'm not sure anyone reads this. If not, its all just for me. But if anyone is out there do what you can for any person in need. While donating money is always great I do feel that physically helping someone is even better. A warm blanket or hot shower can bring a bright spot to a very dismal day.