Easter Sunday

Traditionally a family holiday.  Easter egg hunts in your yard with your kids, grandkids etc.  Special baked goodies with grandma's recipes.  Easter baskets that have been handed down through the family.  That one day you can use grandma's egg plate!  Special table linens that are for holidays only.  So many of these things were washed away in Union Beach. 

I was home with my family working in our yard Easter weekend.  We had the last 6 trees cut in pieces that were blown down from Hurricane Sandy (23 trees fell)   There was still trash and so many branches and piles of leaves all over our yard. 

I was thinking how most of my friends in UB didn't have the luxury of raking leaves to clear their yards.  Most still have dirt that quickly turns to mud at the sight of rain.  There is still trash and debris stuck in their yards.  It's not safe for their kids.  Cutting a few trees would never begin to put their yards back together. 

Then I thought how their traditions were also washed away with the storm.  Grandmoms china, moms awesome recipes and holiday linens were soaked and ruined.  That silly easter basket you have used your whole life gone. 

How strong my new friends are.  They are navigating a new way of life.  New traditions, new homes, new schools and new jobs.  Most lost all of their precious pictures of their families.  But something that they know did not get washed away was their memories.

5 Months

It has been 5 months since Hurricane Sandy.  Five months since the water took so many "things."  Families in Union Beach are still picking up the pieces and trying to rebuild their homes, schools and businesses.  They are still living in rented apartments/houses waiting.  Waiting for the red tape to disappear - waiting to move forward.  Waiting. . .

One thing they are not waiting for is Hope - that is one thing that the hurricane did not wash away.  I saw a sign that said:  The hurricane did not wash away our hope - it only watered it down so more hope can grow!

God blessed Union Beach.

Little Angel

Still moving through my days in a fog.  Waking up to a cool sunny day then BOOM it hits you - my mom is no longer here on earth.  I had forgiven and cut through lots of childhood and adult crap that we give and take from our parents before my mom died.  My mom and I spoke at holidays, birthdays etc.  I last talked to her on my birthday in February. 

My doxie Sidney was very sick the week my mom died.  I had to rush her to the emergency room.  She never came home.  We said goodbye to her late Friday March 15th.  Needless to say I have been in a sort of foggy funk on and off since.  I miss Sidney in the morning when she could not wait for her food to be placed on the floor so she would jump and bark.  Our other doxie Cody just sits patiently waiting.  She did not like being quiet (kind of like my daughter!)   Sidney would alert us when someone was at the door or if a loud car drove by.  Sidney was pushy and bossy for being only 12lbs.  She never knew that she was not a big dog!  She chased squirels, foxes, rabbits, birds, chipmunks and a coyote.

I love you little angel.  I miss your smelly corn chip toes!

Niagara Falls

I went on a trip to Niagara Falls (U.S. and Canada)  March 8-11.  I wanted to go since I was 7 - I remember someone going over the falls in a barrel.  I wanted to do that! (not thinking I could get hurt)  I love the water and what better way to see the falls!!!  I figured I could be famous at the age of 7!!  Well I'm not 7 - in fact I'm 53 years old.  When we got to the falls late Friday I realized that maybe going over the falls in a barrel was not a good idea. . . at least in the winter.  The river was frozen below.  The Maid of the Mist boats were all out of the water and stored on land away from the hundreds of feet of frozen water. 

We could not believe the thunder of the rushing water.  I loved it immediately.  It was exciting and scary all at once.  On Saturday my husband and I drove to Canada.  I was surprised that crossing the border was like waiting in traffic to pay a toll on the Garden State Parkway!   We drove down by the falls and could really see all of the falls.  The U.S. only gets a glimps of them in the winter because most of the park is frozen and closed for safety.  Gosh there is an incredible amount of ice 50 to more than 100 ft high!

I woke up Sunday feelling out of sorts and very weepy.  I wasn't sure what was up til we got a message that my mom had died.  I will bring my kids back to the falls to make new memories.  I don't want that to be the place to remember my mom dying.

I guess that's how Union Beach is.  The place where their town was almost washed off the map by Hurricane Sandy.  

They throw the word Hope around town - it is a blanket of comfort.  A blanket to cover up their pain.  A blanket that helps them all put their feet on the ground each morning to move.

March

March:   The third month of the year.  A form of movement.  To walk steadily and rhythmically forward in step with others  To proceed directly and purposefully. The steady forward movement of a body.

All of these definitions apply to Union Beach 

The 3rd month of the year. . .tick tock (a lot of families are still waiting and waiting!) 

A form of movement - this has been happening in Union Beach since the storm.  Helping friends and neighbors to safety, feeding them, clothing them etc. 

To walk steadily and rhythmically forward in step with others - with the help of donations and volunteers the town has managed to survive with the help of others. 

To proceed directly and purposefully - I saw first hand how the town pulled together and walked for Hope.  They wanted the world to know that a storm as devastating as Sandy is NOT going to stop their movement forward to rebuild this tight community.  Their family.

The steady forward movement of a body - I saw families in the first week after the storm with vague far away expressions on their faces.  Not knowing what happened and how to proceed.  I saw mom's that couldn't feed their kids if it were not for the makeshift pantry in Borough Hall.  Fathers that lost their cars - driving old, beat up borrowed cars of caring friends and family.  Small steady movement to propel their feet forward so they can move through their day.  Then another day into weeks that have turned into months.

Some days hope is hiding in Union Beach.  Some days hope is out in the open in the sunshine.  Some days hope is pushed back into the closet of fear when the news reports another storm is heading for  the east coast.  I know a family whose kids are afraid when they hear of bad weather approaching - they panic and start to gather their few belongings they are now starting to accumulate. 

It did flood the end of February in town.  Just a few feet.  Doesn't matter how much because the towns people keep pushing forward to rebuild their homes, schools, places of business - their lives. 

What if every town in the United States had this much hope?  This much love?

God Bless Union Beach

Sandy

It has been 4 months since Hurricane Sandy.  There are still families waiting to hear from their insurance company to see if they can afford to rebuild or if they have to relocate.  There are many families living in trailers, hotels, the upstairs of their homes and in friends home.  Families in Union Beach are still relying on the kindness of their neighbors, friends and extended families.

I met Sandy last November.  We worked keeping the toilet paper, paper towels, towels, socks etc. in order.  I worked with the best group of people and laughed all the time.  Sandy always had a great joke to share or just the right words to bring smiles to everyone!  As the weeks passed I learned Sandy used worked in the local high school as a truant officer.  I was touched by how she remembered so many students that are now adults with their own kids.  Sandy, her sister Vera and many of her high school classmates were volunteers.  They have known each other for more than 45yrs!  How cool is that.

Sandy and the other ladies are still volunteering helping their town.  I was blessed to meet and work these amazing ladies.  You all ROCK!

Andy and the guys!

There is still a need in Union Beach.  As the town is demolishing homes each day there is a need for supplies.  When there are supplies they need to be delivered so Andy, Tom, Bill, Larry and the rest of the guys help.  It's a dirty job that gets done each day.  They take lumber etc. and load it into the containers for storage.  They work outside and don't complain about the cold, rain or snow.   Someone need to be on duty for deliveries that arrive each day. 

As the months have passed (over 3mths) since the hurricane the town is still a mess.  There are still hundreds of houses that have condemned stickers on their front doors waiting to be torn down.  There are houses still sitting waiting for a decision from insurance, FEMA etc.  There are still families that do not know if they can afford to stay in town. 

For the families that are rebuilding on their own they go to borough hall and get on a list for appliances, furniture, drywall, wood etc.  When their name comes up Andy and the guys help them with their supplies.  It's such a nice thing these guys do each day.  Some are retired.  Some work nights.  But they all are angels human form!!