2013

On this final morning of 2013 I feel it prudent to write a bit...

This year has been an adventure. Usually one uses that word for positive experience, this year has been a very mixed bag.  Some wonderful things have happened, some that I could certainly have lived without.  It has been 14 months since Super Storm Sandy slammed into my life and the life of so many.  I am blessed to be home, warm and able to move on from the storm's wrath personally.  I have had the great pleasure to meet some fantastic people as a result of the storm and am glad to call them friends and share so many experiences with them..... I have grown so much in the past year, learning skills that I never thought I would need or want to learn, I am working on mastering them so that I may, in the coming months, continue to assist those in my community who continue to struggle as a result of the storm.  It is awe inspiring to see the forward movement that has taken place, but crushing to see how many are still out there, feeling left out and left behind.  In the coming year I hope that they will get back where they want and need to be.

A huge shout out to my families- my biological one, the one I married into and the one that has formed as a result of the storm.... I love all of you, need all of you and want to thank all of you for your love and support in the past year.

Moving forward and letting go are difficult... as they page turns on 2013 I hope to continue to do both.

Happy New Year Everyone!

holiday ponderings

So, it's the day before the day before christmas...
another year over, and a new one coming up

This year has been, well, enlightening... to say the least.
My emotions have run the gamut and my life has grown and changed exponentially. I have gone form a displaced storm survivor to a board member of an organization formed to assist those still struggling to get their lives back after the largest storm the northeast has seen in decades. i have met people- wonderful people, interesting people, scary people...I have conquered some fears, gained insights, broken down some of my own barriers, and been there to help others.  I have laughed more than ever, cried as much as ever and loved  fully.

Wishing my family, my friends far and near, old and new a safe holiday filled with joy and love and all you can wish for found in your hearts!

all my love,
shari

OMG...

An invitation to the Rachel Ray show...thank you to Diane Moro Christensen the Board of Director's of Friends of Freeport was invited to a special Rachel Ray episode which will air on Monday November 25th. We loaded up Lois's car with five of us, and three more met us at the studio- eight people represented Friends of Freeport in the studio. She filled the studio with 121 guests- all invited and all "heros."  I felt unworthy of that title- I give my time to assist in the village of Freeport to help those staggered by last year's storm. In the audience with us- a bus driver from Buffalo, NY who stopped and prevented a woman from suiciding, two people who pulled a woman to safety from an oncoming train, an army regiment that had marched the entire Boston marathon and then assisted at the finish line when the unthinkable happened last year, a family that had adopted and fought for three african orphans who are now one big family here in the United States, a woman who's rescue dog saved her son's life, two of the teachers from Moore, Oklahoma who saved their students, Hamptons Hurricane relief founders, a group that delivered food to hurricane refuges in Babylon, and countless others.  Rachel Ray called the show "Thanks for Giving" and then turned around and gave, and gave, and gave.... I am amazed and humbled by the experience and am trying to process my day - still three days later. If you watch the show make sure that you have a full box of tissues..Alison asked the warm up guy for tissues after we used all those that I brought and those did not last very long at all, silly me I gave some away to other audience members.  Not quite sure what the point of putting on makeup before going to the taping was. (to my english teacher friends I am sorry for any dangling participles or half sentences in this post!)

Sad Day

Yesterday a gentle giant passed through the pearly gates. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Henry Lenahan because of my affiliation with Friends of Freeport. He was a hoot to work with, and always had knowledge of better ways to complete the task you were immersed in, he was able to share his knowledge in a way that made you appreciate him. (There are others who don't have that gift, they TELL you how to do what you already know) I worked next to Henry pulling up the floor to a shed, a job he never should have been doing... he shocked the home owner (a registered nurse) telling her that his belly was "not just from beer," indicating that hernia surgery was on the horizon.. she then became his guardian, reminding him to stop frequently, he didn't really listen to her too well, as you can imagine, if you knew Henry. Henry brought us ice every weekend, and he had a shed full of tools that often made their way to job sites as well.
I knew there were medical issues, so did many others, but Henry seemed to soldier on never uttering a word of complaint (a strength, but also not letting us take care of him the way he would take care of others)
I can see his huge smile in my minds eye and know that he would want us to march forward keeping the mission of our group front and center.

let's do our work in Henry's honor and make him prouder than ever to have been a Friend of Freeport

what a day...

Today was amazing..
A group from friends of Freeport.. the rock and rebuilders aka the Rockstars did a four house tour of south Freeport. We started on Gordon place and insulated a crawl space and basement, moved to Jeffrey place and insulated a basement there, then in a caravan we drove to Norton street and insulated another crawl space.  All of these homeowners will stay warmer due to this work performed.  We then took a well deserved lunch break joining another dedicated group from friends of Freeport who had spent the morning removing dead trees, bushes and plants from the front of another home in Freeport.  After refueling we took a ride over to south ocean avenue and insulated one more basement...
am I tired? Yes....
am I itchy? Yes...
but it is the best tired and itchy...
Every weekend I find myself more and more amazed by the group that I have grown to know and LOVE!

Thank you for allowing me to be part of you and to learn so much.

10/26... T-MINUS 3 DAYS AND COUNTING

One year ago...

So much progress for some, so little movement or progress for others.  I count myself among the blessed, I am  in my finished home.  There are so many that are living double lives- not able to live in storm damaged property, yet responsible for the properties costs and up keep.  There are rallies, meetings to distribute information and yet there is a lack of  usable information available...

So much sadness- I have had the opportunity to meet so many people who continue to struggle, who still today, cannot speak about their experience of the storm and it's aftermath without tears cascading down their faces... if you know me ( and if you are reading this, you do ) you know that I am crying right along with them.  They need support, yet are often reluctant to utilize the available resources. I can provide encouragement and listen a bit but there are those who rebuff even these offers of an ear...

So much happiness- when I volunteer with Friends of Freeport  I am amazed by what we can achieve and the joy that our task completion brings to families and individuals. Grateful faces with smiles, and no surprise, tears of joy and thanksgiving.

So much still to do...

I will continue to be there and to reach out as best as I can and assist those who are in need, and hope that I and others can continue to be there and do our part...

It's been almost a year

Wow... the date is October 20, 2013... almost a year since Superstorm Sandy altered the loves of so many people... Change is a long difficult road, made even more difficult if the change is triggered by things outside your control...

Who would have thought that the Long Island south shore would still be reeling a year after the storm and that so many would still be unable to live in storm damaged homes one year later?  Certainly not me, I was out of my home for six months, there are still so many who are home owners that are paying mortgages, taxes and rent for a place to live, it is unconscionable to me that in this day and age so many are still suffering terribly.  I think of them and pray for them daily, and have been helping whenever I can to put a dent in the number of those not able to fully use their homes by volunteering with an Awesome group of people- growing pains are obvious within that group as well- Friends of Freeport (www.friendsoffreeprtny.org)
I hope things smooth out and that we can continue actively in our mission of bringing families home.  If there is anyone reading this blog that has intimate knowledge of great fundraising techniques /resources please contact me (shari@friendsoffreeportny.org.)

Yesterday we were involved in the building of a playground- well, actually, mostly the decorating of the grounds of a Safe playground for the community at the recreation center, I can't wait to see it filled with the smiles and loud with the yells and sounds of happy children playing- even with the green thing in the corner!

We have an anniversary celebration coming up as do so many local communities, it will be a sweet and sour day... a time to reflect and to plan for the future and hope that local planning efforts can prevent this kind of devastation in the future.