have you ever heard the saying "no good deed goes unpunished?"

I'm sure there is not a one of you who have not heard that saying, or said it yourself when you have gone over and above for another.

This week this statement has taken on a new meaning.

Sunday I added a volunteer day that was initially unplanned... then planned and my thought was that I would go there, help the job get going and get gone myself taking a needed rest.  The stars had other plans.  I ran into someone who, by their behavior, decided that I needed to remain on site throughout the jobs process.  I laughed, I cried and I shrugged my shoulders- what else was there to do...  Monday the call I dreaded making had to be made and I did it letting the powers know my concerns for the safety of the individuals involved in Sunday's shenanigans. And then later in the day I received another call letting me know that the dreaded call had been the right one... I hope that help is on the way for the family.

I must say that the volunteers that helped on Sunday were fantastic.. although they were young and had never quite experienced what they experienced they were composed, and more adult than most adults I know. One of the coaches who was with the young men is, in my book, headed for sainthood...

Monday and Tuesday were fun as we painted but then more was added to my plate- for once I did what I usually don't do and I voiced my displeasure- yeah me!  That is VERY difficult for me to do and I am exceptionally proud.. now I need NOT to back down... I plan on holding my ground ( oh no, now there's an ear worm, lol)

Wishing that no more of my good deeds land me in the punishment territory!

growing pains

I am learning so much about me... but not in a way that I like...
I am strong but my strength is being tested and I don't like it much at all. It is not my physical strength that is in question but my emotional strength that has been called into question recently.
I am learning how to stand up for myself, and not let others trample me.. it feels good but it hurts as well as the people who are stepping on me are some of those who are helpers, and  I guess that is startling to me.

I cry and I think that is sometimes seen as a weakness, however it is one of my strengths, as crying allows me to let things out when words temporarily fail me.  I regain my voice and speak out for myself now, I did not previously have that skill and am proud to have begun to do this.

change is essential
change is hard
change is good...


keep on keepin on

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.