A lot has happened in the world in the last four months…we continue to be assaulted by bad news from hurricanes, forest fires, earthquakes, mass shootings… it doesn’t seem that we can catch a break, does it? I, like you, am grieving with those impacted most recently by the tragedy in Las Vegas and continue to have a heavy heart for those who are recovering from the California wildfires, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and other natural disasters.
It is easy to get depressed and overwhelmed by the troubles of the world, but it’s important to remember that there is so much good here, too. If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share a bit about my summer sabbatical, what happened during Harvey and how I’ve been privileged to serve the greater Houston community.
You may remember that I announced in May that I was taking a sabbatical. My goal was to “Rest & Write” because I needed more time to grieve my mom’s death, craved more time to write and honestly wanted more time with my family. In early June, my adventurous 6 year old daughter Riley and I traveled 2,000 miles over three weeks, where we visited more than 50 relatives and friends in North Carolina and Tennessee. We visited our family farm in Pinehurst, she got to attend farm camp in Bristol and I got to visit with some of my best friends in the world in my beloved mountains of Asheville.
After that epic road trip, I took a five week spiritual writing course with the Center for Creative Non-Fiction which motivated me to submit my introduction and the first two chapters of my book to my teacher. [Gulp!] That was scary to share with others and I felt really vulnerable doing it, but it also was a very decisive action in moving forward and committing to my book. Eric, Riley and I had one final vacation for a glorious week in Minnesota. During those lazy summer days at home, I had chunks of time where I could truly be and breathe. I was able to go through more of my mom’s things and took time to write in my journal. I also continued to do my grieving journey as it approached the one-year anniversary of when my mom died on September 11th and I facilitated a simple ritual with some friends that day.
I thought I would be returning to work in September but hurricane Harvey hit Houston on August 25th and devastated our region. For three days, the storm ravaged Texas. We experienced a tornado that damaged 50 homes in our neighborhood just a mile away, several house fires due to lightning strikes and flooding of biblical proportions very close to our home. Everything that you saw on the news was real and I felt like we were living in a Hollywood blockbuster disaster movie as we hid in the pantry for 138 tornado warnings, evacuated our home in just an hour and drove through standing water on the highway, not knowing if we would make it to safety. We were under mandatory evacuation for six days for fear the levy surrounding our community would break.
But we were the lucky ones. Our house didn’t flood and after a week, we were able to return and help our community to rebuild. I quickly realized that it was not time for me to return to work just yet, and that my work was instead volunteering to help others in need. It was so heartwarming to see our neighborhood come together and help each other out. Friends helped friends and strangers helped strangers. People mucked out homes, ripped out drywall, pulled up floors and schlepped debris to the curb. Others made meals, passed out water and Gatorade and provided supplies for those who needed them.
I’m not exactly a “muck-out-your-house” kinda gal, so I decided that the best way for me to help was to raise money. Hundreds of my friends and relatives followed our story on Facebook as I shared updates each day chronicling the rains, the tornadoes, the fear, the ultimate evacuation… I had friends praying for us daily and several said they were crying as they imagined the nightmare that was unfolding before us. I knew that if I continued telling stories of Harvey victims – our friends and neighbors – it would inspire people to give generously and I could get the money directly into the hands of people who desperately needed it. Here are some links to my Facebook posts about the evacuation, the return home and the fundraising.
Over the past 6 weeks, together we raised almost $7,000!!! Thank YOU so much — my generous community of family, friends, clients, and colleagues. I’ve given out more than 85 “Micro Gifts” ranging from $50-$250 to families that flooded or to small local organizations that are doing great work in our community. Here’s just one Facebook post to give you an idea of who is receiving the money. We still have a little bit of money left to disburse and the need continues here in Houston. It is going to take years for Texas to recover from the utter devastation that Harvey inflicted here. Thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, donations and love. It matters. It all matters! If you’d like to contribute, let me know and I’ll send you details on how to contribute via PayPal, check or gift card.
What a rollercoaster ride it’s been since I last wrote to you. Ups and downs and all arounds. That’s life, though, isn’t it? Through it all, we’ve been reminded of the importance of community, generosity, gratitude, rest, and renewal. All important lessons on this journey of Life.
I started back with a few coaching clients earlier this month and have space for three new clients. If this is you, get in touch. In addition, I plan to keep facilitating my networking groups, writing my book, and volunteering my time. I have a few speaking engagements lined up for 2018 and of course we’re busy here with an active first grader and the approaching holidays! Riley’s going to be Wonder Woman for Halloween which will be lots of fun.
Thank you for reading and for caring. I’m not sure when I’m going to return to writing my e-zine regularly, but wanted this to be a check in note to give you updates from Houston and I’d love to hear from YOU, too! Tell me what’s new (and up, down and all around!) in your world. I love hearing from you.