Day 42 ❦ Time can be a valuable gift

Day 42 ❦ Time can be a valuable gift

The Gift: Time, time, time

There is a sense of surrealness that begins to take over the community. It is palpable as you drive around town, there are many homes and people whose lives were only minorly inconvenienced by the flood and then there are a huge number of people whose lives will never be the same. During this “in-between” time (the time between the devastation and being able to help) those of us who still have homes and whose lives are close to normal again just try to pick up and continue on where we left off. Perhaps we have someone staying with us, or perhaps we are garnering the support for the monumental work that will be ahead of us once the water recedes and we can finally go in and begin helping, but for all intents and purposes, life comes back to normal when the electricity is restored.

For me the electricity came back on last night and so we started the process of cleaning everything out of our refrigerator and throwing stuff from the freezer. There wasn’t much left since I had used most of my back-up stores to cook for the multitude of guests over the past few days. In addition to my husband working non-stop for the Red Cross doing counseling, the other relief effort we are coordinating is the huge number of Rotarians who have called to offer their assistance.

In fact, one of the first calls I received was from the current chair of the World Community Service Committee which oversees grants, and Lee tells me that the leadership of the District got together and would like to see me write a grant to support the flood victims...so I add that to my “to-do” list since it is too early to think about that, but we are also coordinating Rotarians along with other volunteers around the region who are being organized to come here in two weeks to begin cleaning brigades. Our group will be organized out of a nearby church and so any Rotarian who is interested in coming to help is connecting with me and I am co-ordinating their visit - they need to bring a list of things to use to clean, ensure that they have their Tetanus shot up to date and be wearing specific clothing so that they don’t injure themselves. As of today (3 days after the flood began) I have 60 Rotarians on the list so far of people who are joining in a massive effort to clean 500 properties.

The Red Cross is expert at the overall organization of these efforts and give us all a lot of guidance about how to assist in a meaningful manner. It is very interesting and informative to witness. Very impressive really. Helping to coordinate this part of the relief effort gives me a lot of relief and makes me feel like I am actually doing something. Today again, giving my gift of time gives me a lot of relief.

❦ Time can be a valuable gift