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a diary death friends Hurricane Hurricane Sandy loss of home no power prayers Random Thoughts Therapeutic Thursdays water

Random thoughts during Hurricane Sandy…

 Monday

  • 7:00 am – The winds have started to pick up this early Monday morning.  The first high tide is coming in a bit and they are worried of serious flooding.
  • 1:00 pm – The first high tide did not bring in as much water as we expected.  We’re off to a good start.  A lot of the people I spoke to yesterday seem to be unconcerned, I hope they evacuate anyways.
  • 2:00 pm – Not feeling well, I’m going to take advantage of this quiet afternoon with a nice long nap.  
  • 5:00 pm – We lost power a few hours ago, just lost my window of having a hot meal for dinner; stupid nap.  The wind has begun to pick up more.
  • 6:30 pm – I have been getting texts from family members and friends, some have power and some don’t, maybe it won’t be so bad after all.  My niece has called to tell me she still has power and since they were bored she’s out joy riding to access the damages. Wait, what?!
  • 8:00 pm – The wind has picked up a great deal.  Leaves and debris float on invisible waves like a perfectly timed flash mob.  My attic bedroom is shaking; I keep thinking of images of a silent screaming women taking flight.  At least the candles give the illusion that all is well.
    • photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video via photopin cc
  • 10:30 pm – I can’t read anymore.  The wind seems to be dying down now; my eyes won’t stay open.  There’s still no power.  I am not feeling well.  I will let the dark night take me to dream land.  

Tuesday

  • 7:03 am – Danny, the boyfriend, brings me much needed coffee.  He mentions being stopped three times by the police.  It is understandable that after a hurricane people would stay indoors.  Right?  I spend the next five hours charging my phone and my kindle in the car.  Not once does it occur to me to turn on the radio.
  • 12:30 pm – More cars are on the road and lots of people are walking around.  I go back into the house.  Still NO power.
  • 5:00 pm – I just woke up from an almost four hour nap.  I am starting to feel better.  I am starving.  We’re all starving.  Still NO power.
  • 5:30 pm – I venture out to find hot food.  Traffic lights are not working.  People are not driving crazy.  Trees are knocked down.  Where to eat?  Closed.  Closed.  Closed.  No Power.  My favorite Chinese food spot is open.  Operating by flashlight. Hmmmm. I am hungry.  My last hot meal was breakfast Monday morning.  Granola, bread, and fruit are not cutting it.  Hey, where are the UI guys?
  • 10:30 pm – I regret already eating that Chinese food.  Rumor has it that the UI guys are on strike.  Apparently out of state line guys have been paid almost triple, with five star hotel check-ins and gourmet meals.  I just want my power.  Tonight is supposed to be cold.  I can’t read anymore.  The dark night still seems surreal.  I fall asleep to the sound of humming generators, ambulance sirens and the dark.  Still NO power.

Wednesday

  • 5:20 am – Still NO Power.  I get up to wake my father for work.  It was hard to get out of bed, so cold. I go back to sleep
  • 7:00 am – I wake up to a nice hot shower and get ready for work.  Thank God for Gas Water Heaters!  Downtown Bridgeport has power?! Drive to Panera Bread for breakfast and it was packed.  A quick scan and overheard conversations, a good portion of Shelton and Trumbull are out of power to.  Driving to work I see that the power is not on in the building.  Decide to drive home, stopped at the Dunkin donuts in Bridgeport to grab coffee for my mom and the line is coming out of the door, drive through is wrapping around the building. Craig, the newspaper guy, sends me to the cafe in the lot next door.  Bless his soul.  
  • 1:00 pm –  Still NO power.  I did see a UI guy working on the tree a few blocks away.  I wonder if the rumors are true?  If so I pray the negotiations are moved along.  Its cold.  Nap time?
  • 3:00 pm – Can’t get warm.  I throw on layers and head over to the cafe that has free wi-fi.  They have the door open?  Why?!  Don’t they know I’m trying to defrost?  I almost tear up to see all the concerned souls praying and sending love my way on Facebook.
  • 5:00 pm – I get to my sister’s house, who has power, to warm up with an invite to dinner.  I step out to find soup for my mom to find the Chinese place closed.  Driving home I do not know how to explain to my mom I could not find soup and decide I can heat up a can of soup.  Oh, what wait, street lights?  Yes.  oh wait but not on this block.  Turning onto my street I see them, bright and beautiful.  I run into the house, We have POWER!  My mom forgives me for not finding soup.
  • 11:30 pm – I am thankful that the power came back on, its warm and my belly is full.  God is good.  So are all the people in my life!

I was very fortunate during Hurricane Sandy.  While my household suffered the loss of power, Monday into Tuesday evening was warm.  There are people that have lost their homes. Some have lost their lives. There are many still without power.  My thoughts and prayers stay with them during this time and I pray they find relief soon. May we all go to sleep with the street lights on tonight.

photo credit: Bigod via photopin cc
Until then,

    Categories
    alone Daphine Glenn Robinson djrelat7 Book Reviews friends Invisible Girl: The Suicide Journal Soulful Sundays suicide teenagers The Word youth

    Our hardships are our lessons to share with others

    When I was in high school I was very aware of the many invisible things that could effect a teenager.  There were days that I felt I was just going through the motions, but I had hope that one day things would be, different.  I was extremely fortunate that I had great friends to distract me.  However, I was great at hiding the things that ailed me.  I can recall clearly one day in AP History, my teacher asking  me if I was OK, that he’d noticed I was looking fragile.  I admitted that I had lost weight but I blamed it on my busy schedule, you know all the extra running around.  I learned to smile, even though sometimes I wanted to cry.  I had broken my relationship with God when my grandparents passed away within months of each other.  I questioned how a mighty God could take away our loved ones and put us through trying times.  One of the things that also helped was a journal with a good and old friend of mine that shared a similar way of life.  You think you’re alone but if you’re lucky you find out you’re not.

    I’m reminiscent today because of Daphine Glenn Robinson’s short story, Invisible Girl: The Suicide Journal.  Melissa, the owner of the journal, has a different story than mine.  We’re both familiar with the screaming, the slamming, the occasional scene of violence and the uncontrollable tears.  As I began reading, I had to put it down several times.  Its hard, when you think you’ve forgotten a memory, to only hear or read something that brings it rushing back.  Once I reminded myself of where I was now, no where near where I was at 15, I couldn’t put the book down.  Her story unfolds quickly, and you feel like you’re right there with her.  Pleading with her to have faith.  Faith that things do get better.  But more importantly, faith in God.  He never gives us anything we cannot handle.  Our hardships are our lessons to share with others.  This is what Invisible Girl does.

    If I didn’t have that friend in high school, to journal back and forth with, to share my woes; I wish I had read this book then.  Out of all the hundreds of books I read in my youth as a child, I wish I had it to read then.  Unfortunately the topics of this book are not the casual topics you’d bring up at a party or at the cafeteria table.  The topics are raw and leave you feeling unnerved.  Nonetheless it is a topic that should be discussed, must be discussed, because it is real.  Somewhere someone is experiencing it right now. 

    These past few weeks I have been teaching Catechism.  If we do not see something, does it exist?  Yes.  This is what we call faith.  We believe because of faith.  “We can know God in a much deeper way by means of faith.  In a much deeper way because in this instance it is God himself who tells us who he is, what he has done, what he has given us, what he promises, what he teaches, what pleases him, what he wants from us. … Through faith God revels himself, allows himself to be known, and manifests himself.  Furthermore, God does this because he wants to and because he loves us.  God speaks to us in order to tell us what he is like and to tell us how we should be; and since he speaks to us, he tells us his Word, the Word of God.”…Carlos Miguel Buela, Catechism for Youth.

    I ask you on this Soulful Sunday to be mindful of your friends.  Sometimes they might be going through an ordeal they can’t speak of, either out of fear or because its not something you bring up in casual conversation.  All you can do is make sure they know that you are there for them, that you love them and that God loves them to.

    The Word of God, yes, on that note I leave you a reading from today’s Holy Mass to let it marinate the rest of the week.

    Heb 4: 12-13                          [God’s Living Word]

    God’s word is penetrating and sharp.  Nothing is hidden from God, and all must render an account to him.
    A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews

    Brothers and Sisters:

    Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

    No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to who we must render an account.

    The word of the Lord.

    Thanks be to God!

    Let it marinate!

    Until then,

    PS: To find out more works of Daphine please visit her:

    Daphine Glenn Robinson 

    Author, Freelance Writer

    Amazon Author Page

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    Categories
    august back pack back to school book bag coats elementary fila sneakers friends important life lessons la gears she-ra sneakers Take Charge Tuesdays

    Remember the Important Things in Life

    As you get older in life, time becomes relative.  In my youth it felt like the summer would last forever and I would count down to the beginning of school.  Most kids will claim the exact opposite, not me though.  Money was tight for us then, but I only know that NOW.  There weren’t that many activities outside of the house that I was allowed to do.  Those were the days where you had to be super creative to not be bored.  Back then there wasn’t the technology of today.  If it weren’t for the good ole’ Bridgeport Public Library, two blocks from my house, I am sure I would have lost my mind.  The summer would crawl but then the next thing I would know, it was August again.  The sales would be arriving in the newspaper.  Signs would be hung up at the Hi-Ho Mall (no longer there) and I knew that I would be getting something new for school.  It was my Christmas in August.  I’m not sure if you’ll remember the fun things I am about to list, I may be dating myself here ( :-O if you turn your head sideways to the left, that is my gasping face.) These are the top three things I looked forward to picking out for the new school year.

    1. NEW sneakers.  Now I know that there were a ton of brands at Sears but the ones that were in budget were these bad boys, L.A. Gears….I remember trying to ask for the ones that had the light up bottom, but I got SHUT down.
    2. A NEW book bag.  For whatever reason, I never liked getting a character type book bag, or maybe that is how I remember it.  I always had a simple, solid color, bag.  There might have been an incident where I pleaded for one, maybe Strawberry Shortcake or She-ra, and didn’t get it.  I might have been so traumatized by the NO, that I have created the memory where I only think I wanted solid colored book bags.  I’m not sure, just saying its possible.
    3. A NEW coat.  I recall this memory vividly.  My mom and I were standing in Burlington Coat Factory, all their coats were on the lower level, I wanted this beautiful brown satiny like jacket, with this tribal print along the collar in black and white velvet, and along the edge of the collar hung white stringy fur.  It was expensive.  My mom wanted me to try on other coats but I ONLY wanted that one.  I thought, HOW COOL WILL I BE AT SCHOOL IN THIS COAT.  She bought it for me.  Even though IT WAS expensive.  When school started, and it was time to wear our new coats, everyone was wearing sports jackets, with basketball or football teams. WHAT?!  I hated my coat then and pleaded with my mom for a new one.  If I could go back in time I would slap myself.  However, I have to remember that I was a kid, a HUGE nerd, who just wanted to fit in with the rest of the kids.  I wanted to belong, but never felt I had anything to connect to them.

    Its funny, now everything seems a blur.  Time seems to go by so fast now.  You blink and its the next season.  I think back on elementary school now and no matter what NEW thing I got, it still didn’t give me that connection I thought I’d get from it.  It was never THE name brand that was popular at the time.  Remember the important things in life are not material things! 

    What I was shocked to learn was that kids, sometimes, are not so horrible.  There are kids who will pick on you because you’re clothes are not a label.  There are kids that will make stupid comments to you just to see if they can get under your skin.  BUT there are kids who will stick up for you, who will get in between you and the idiot kids, who will protect you and who will be your friend regardless of what you’re wearing or what you do not have.  Those are the friends I keep today, those same kids from elementary school.  Their qualities were a must have, of the people I looked for later on in life, to give the honored title, Friend.  I wouldn’t trade that for all the Fila sneakers and She-ra book bags in the world.

    What are some of the important things in life you’ve learned along the way?

    Until then,


    Categories
    #movies arts festival dating estranged friends love relationships shanna melton Soulful Sundays taco loco ted

    Spend time with the one you’re with….Feed your soul.

    …There’s that song….’Love the one you’re with’, well spend time with them to.  Yesterday was a lovely Saturday.  The sun was bright and shining.  The temperature was in the high 90’s.  I had talked myself into staying in the comforts of my air conditioned bedroom.  I threw the list of things I wanted to do out the window.  Some days you just want to do absolutely nothing.  Especially when there is a laundry list of things to do.  This didn’t happen though.  Instead I enjoyed a lovely day with my boyfriend.  He reminded me of the plans I had made the day before and I was going to do them whether I wanted to or not.  I dragged my heels for a good hour, when I should have been getting ready but I wanted to have a little “do nothing” time. Once I was dressed and ready to go, my spirits picked up.

    We started off our Saturday afternoon with a delicious lunch at Ralph ‘n’ Rich’s.   This restaurant is located in downtown Bridgeport.  I have been here a handful of times, and I have never been disappointed.  It is a lovely place to have large groups of people.  Once Daniel’s hunger was tamed we ventured off to the Art’s Festival on the Green in Bridgeport.



     It was great to see all the people come out for this event, despite the heat. It is important to support artists, after all they help us to see the beauty in all things.  I picked up some beautiful prints from my friend Shanna Melton; to see her works you can visit www.poeticsoularts.net.  It has been a pleasure to see her painting evolve.  She is also now doing photography.  Aside from paintings, there were a number of jewelry vendors and other items of an artistic nature.  We cooled off with generous cups of ice cream.  A band was playing melodies and we even got to watch a fashion show; who knew how pretty a dress could be, made up of different ties.  I didn’t snap a picture of that because the model moved to fast for my bloggie, but take my word, it was very pretty.

    Photo from Fandango

    We rushed off from the art’s festival to catch the 1:45 showing of Ted starting  Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis.  Its a story about a grown man and his teddy bear.  I won’t ruin it for you if you plan on seeing it.  The one liners will keep you amused throughout the movie, but I suggest you watch it during matinee hours.  It is not worth a full price ticket. If you have kids, this is Rated R, I DO NOT recommend this movie for children under 17.

    No movie is complete without dinner, right?  We shared a delicious meal at Taco Loco in Bridgeport.  On my quest of trying new things, I fell in love with Yucca Fries, Dos XX beer and Lime Cilantro dressing.  I meant to take a picture of my Avocado with Mahi salad, but I forgot and I ate it all. :/   I assure you from the trace of absolutely nothing on my plate that it was delicious.  Desert was purchased at the local Stop and Shop, Breyer’s Natural Vanilla Ice Cream and FRESH Strawberries.  


    A few episodes of one of my favorite t.v. series on Netflix is how we ended the evening.


    Daniel and I did a lot yesterday, but none of it was really important.  It was a rare treat to have that chunk of time.  We could have done absolutely nothing.  What was important was the time we spent together.  It is important to spend time with loved ones.  Its one of those things that feeds our souls, like I spoke of last Sunday.  Sometimes life gets so busy that we put off saying Hi to a friend or a family member.  It is not done on purpose but it just gets pushed back on the list of things to do.  If you’re reading this and someone has popped into your head, then take a few seconds and send them a text.  Type Hi and add a smiley face 🙂 This translates to… Its ME and I was thinking of YOU.   This Sunday feed your soul by giving that estranged friend a call or the aunt you haven’t seen in many moons.  Feed your soul.

    Until then,