1 year later- I choose to see the good....

Lemont IL

11 March, 2021

9:33 PM

Description

Choosing to find the good. One year ago on this day I arrived at Boston Logan Airport for my annual St. Patrick weekend visit with my husband. (#Bostonholdsmyheart) We went to his hotel to ready for the night's work (well, his night of work, my night of sitting shot gun in his bucket truck listening to sports radio J). We had the basketball game on while we were readying and witnessed the beginning or the end, I'm still not sure how to describe that moment. Prior to the tip off of the Jazz and Thunder game the refs met with the coaches and instead of the game beginning the players were sent to their locker rooms and the fans were told the game was not going to be played, one of the players had tested positive for COVID 19 and there was enough of a threat to the health of others that NBA decided to just take a moment to figure out how to proceed safely. We looked at each other and we were sure how to react to what we just witnessed. It was that moment when you know something "big" has happened but you don't want to dig deep enough to know how "big" it is. By the next morning when we arrived back at "home away from home" our ears and heads were filled with all of the current news that we could absorb. Though we were consumed with trying to figure out what was episode of the twilight zone we were in. "The one where the world comes to a screeching halt". As March 12th moved on more shut downs occurred and more panic ensued it was the accident scene we couldn't drive by and realized that we were being drawn into it. I was notified that our schools would be closed and I worried about the young friends who were gifted one "for sure" meal a day from the free/reduced lunch program. I reached out to Dr. Orzel and Debby Lynch and as always they already had a plan to surround and protect the vulnerable. I cannot emphasize enough how much our school district values the lives of our youth far beyond the hours they walk within the buildings. After a few phone calls with Debby, I knew that the assurance of that valuable meal was set in place and as the months moved forward our School District & Charter Food Staff provided thousands upon thousands of lunches to our community and Hope and Friendship was blessed to help be a conduit of some of those appreciated meals. With that need being met I moved onto planning on how we could assist with the basic needs for the homes that were struggling prior to a work and living shut down and now would be gasping for air. I requested use of the Police Department, readied a list of basic needs (paper products and cleaning products that were immediately being sucked up, personal care items and fresh food), I put out the email and posted the notice of the "Relief Delivery Outreach" and gratefully accepted the few brave offers of hands and feet that would help me in a time of risk touch, pack, and deliver boxes of hope to homes that needed the assurance that they were not alone. (#wewillallgetthroughthistogether #onevillageunited) Within 48 hours the near 5% of our community who have the scarlet letter of "local poverty level" on their door frames was in our sight and a hand of a friend was being extended. All of us can go back over the last year and talk about the pain, the struggles, the loss, the weight that to this day still is being carried by so many, but I choose to try and focus on the good I personally witnessed. The #GodHugs that I saw, felt and was blessed to deliver. *As was demonstrated by Dr. Orzel and her staff, those who care for our children rallied harder than ever to feed them, protect them, show them resilience in the unknown. *Our teachers, who have forever been underappreciated and underpaid, put on their warrior paint and began to write a new chapter in history of education. They rewrote lesson plans, reinvented the format to educate, created a method to teach their students, our children and grandchildren, that had never been taught in any college course. They remained the constant in our children's lives even when the world was upended. They put their students before themselves. #selflesswarriors *Our churches proved that church is NOT a building. Pastors, worship teams, youth leaders, burrowed their heads down together- via Zoom, Face-time, phone calls- and they revised how they would present service their heads never once contemplating cancelling service. They added equipment, experimented with sound, space, and presentation and you were invited to be in your church community from your sofa with your coffee in hand. Build it and they will come. COVID would NOT cancel church services, no, COVID allowed more to attend church service. Pastors often reminisce about the Sundays immediately after 9-11 when our country filled the pews and aisles of churches seeking the emotional support *Our busier than a day's worth of hours' schedules screeched to a whiplashing halt, and then readjusted into something we had never experienced. The schedules that were just days ago packed too full of school, sports, extra-curriculars, and work commutes, were now blank pages and we were shell shocked with the idea of this uncomfortable feeling of not having to be anywhere. We learned how to simply "be". *People got outside and walked. I worked in the "Digs on Canal" location every day, I could see through the windows droves of individuals, families, couples out walking. As I ran around picking up donations around town I saw more feet on the sidewalk than I have in my 26 years here in Lemont. Hand were being held. Conversations were being had, without distractions. The outdoors were being breathed in and the beauty of nature was being seen and enjoyed. *Small businesses became not just important to frequent, but our mission to save. We understood that those who owned small businesses were being punished by a force that only we could offset. We realized that we had the power to do just that and did our best to offer that. The "Taste of Lemont on Wheels" Facebook page was a frequent visit for all who wanted to enjoy a meal prepared while supporting a business struggling to survive. (Thank you Kyle Cuiching for making that conduit of assistance possible!!!) *Family dinners returned, or began. We cleared off our dining room tables and used them to eat at. We gathered. We shared stories of the most unusual day we had. We enjoyed each other as individuals and as a family. We were reminded of how much a blessing having a dishwasher is! *Those minimum wage/part-time jobs suddenly were promoted to "essential jobs". *We opened our eyes and saw that our healthcare workers were true relentless warriors, whom we had blindly overlooked. *We understood that Police, Fire, Emergency Management and Public Works personal were our local front-line workers that could not choose to stay safely at home and perform their job as those who serve, protect and keep our community safe and functioning in any circumstance. They didn't fail us, they rose fearlessly to serve us selflessly and loyally as they had every day prior and will do every day forward. *We learned to wash our hands…properly…for 20 seconds…with soap (which we also learned was a very valuable basic need!) *We realized that hugs had been underappreciated and that we did in fact need and crave human contact. *We learned we can live with less. With time on our hands we purged and cleaned our cabinets, closet and cubbyholes, and filled every thrift store and charity that would take our "stuff". *Our local restaurant owners, who themselves were struggling trying merely to survive, showed selflessness and sincere generosity by offering what they had to those who needed. The Gricus family had a tough decision to make as they were forced to close one of their downtown businesses to help the other one attempt to survive. Instead of allowing the location to sit vacant Ed, Peg, and Jennifer offered the location to be the hub of assistance for the Hope and Friendship Foundation Relief Deliveries. Their refrigerator held the fresh food, the restaurant was constantly filled with donations, the sidewalks outside of "Digs on Canal" were filled every Wednesday with boxes lined up and readied for our volunteers who would deliver the relief. They did this not to benefit themselves but to offer what they could as they were able to meet needs of the community that they also call home. Other restaurant owners offered fresh food donations, meals, and to be donation sites. It could have been every "man/woman" for themselves, but it was truly nothing short of #onevillageunited. *Generosity grew. Exponentially. I asked for a package of diapers for even just one family in need and you offered enough diapers to meet the needs of many. I asked for a box of cereal and you supplied enough for every family with children that we were striving to assist. I asked for a fish and a loaf of bread to break into portions to meet some of the needs, and you provided bushels to meet every need. *Courage roared when COVID tried to quiet the brave. I had walking angels step forward to make sure no one was left behind. We were to stay inside, but some knew that if all stayed safely inside no one would be able to receive the gifts of grace of the "Relief Deliveries". Courage spoke up, showed up, and offered themselves as the carriers of compassion to the doors of those who needed the quiet, no name, no face warriors who left hope and light at their door week after week after week. *Humble request were made audible, received and met with compassion. Unconditionally. Unjudgementally. We looked out for our neighbor and we put the net under them with our time, effort, generosity and determination to not let one of us need what we could provide. *Our eyes, ears and hearts opened to the realization that not every home was being impacted equally. This was a break, a reconnection for some homes; for others it was a downward spiral into deeper poverty or to trials that are still being felt one year later. (See "We are not in the same boat" following) *For 11 weeks needs were humbly spoken, donations were rallied, boxes were purposely packed and bravely delivered to more than 200 doors here in our corner of the world. For those 80 days I was allowed the blessing of witnessing the good in what was, and still is for many, a most difficult chapter in our history. Though I saw so many struggle, hardships exacerbated, households implode and businesses close, I squinted through the glare of the trials that blinded us to focus on the good that came from within and around us. Every day that we wake up we are blessed with the gift of another day, yet ladened with the responsibility of choice. We make our first choice when we get out of bed or rollover and avoid the start. Storms and life blows come to all, however, some have more equipment than others to survive the battering, bruises and brokenness that leave the scars from the turning of the pages of those challenging chapters. I could write pages of what pain, struggles, trials and losses we have seen over the past year, but that wouldn't show the true character of this Village. What shows the true grit and determination to survive, together, was what I was blessed to witness when life blows were delivered to all, but deflected from some by the selflessness of many. I choose to see the good that has come from this trying year, not because I'm blind to the pain it has caused, but because I saw the lotus rise above the muck and waves of challenge. I am richer because my community showed me the value of linking arms and staying afloat as one, leaving no one behind. I am so blessed to be here with you in this most beautiful corner of the world that refuses to be conquered and continues to demonstrate compassion and kindness on the days when the sun is shining, and as you demonstrated, through the days that need light and love. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11 "Be the change that you wish to see in the world." ~ Mahatma Gandhi We are not in the same boat.. "I heard that we are in the same boat. But it's not that. We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship can be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa. For some, quarantine in optimal: a moment of reflection, or reconnection. Easy, in flip flops, with a whiskey or tea. For others, this is a desperate crisis. For others, it is facing loneliness. For some, peace, rest time, vacation. Yet for others, Torture: How am I going to pay muy bills? Some were concerned about a brand of chocolate for Easter (this year there were no rich chocolates). Others were concerned about the bread for the weekend, or if the noodles would last for a few more days. Some were in their "home office". Others are looking through trash to survive. Some want to go back to work because they are running out of money. Others want to kill those who break the quarantine. Some need to break the quarantine to stand in line at the banks. Others to escape. Others criticize the government for the lines. Some have experienced the near-death of the virus, some have already lost someone from it, and some believe they are infallible and will be blown away if or when this hits someone they know. Some have faith in God and expect miracles during 2020. Others say the worse is yet to come. So, friends, we are not in the same boat. We are going through a time when our perceptions and needs are completely different. And each one will emerge, in his own way, from that storm. It is very important to see beyond what is seen at first glance. Not just looking, more than looking, seeing. See beyond the political party, beyond biases, beyond the nose on your face. Do not judge the good life of the other, do not condemn the bad life of the other. Don't be a judge. Let us not judge the one who lacks, as well as the one who exceeds him. We are on different ships looking to survive. Let everyone navigate their route with respect, empathy and responsibility." Wishing you peace & a most blessed future my friend, Terri Email- [email protected] Website- www.hopeandfriendshipfoundation.com "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31: 8-9