V is for Vanilla 28

[mustardseed]

Hi V. Just checking in. I am sorry to hear that you continue to have to deal with the BS WH left behind. You are an amazing and strong woman and I admire they way you have handled all of this. Yes, it is a mess, but it is getting more and more tidy every day. This is an amazing time in your life. Chaotic, broken, intimidating, frightening--but also hopeful, invigorating, freeing.

It helps me to think of some of the national and global disasters that have recently impacted our world. The two that were close to home for me 9/11 and Sandy--I remember those life changing moments when everything all fell apart. The unthinkable had happened. I remember shock, the quiet after shock, the inspired call to action, the frustrating process of accepting a new normal, the forgetting exactly how horrific those moments was, and then remembering when you least expect it. Remembering when you have to remember because it is time to reflect on how far we have come.

It's been over 15 years since 9/11 and I see the freedom towers when I drive passed and through the city, and I often forget that they weren't always there. That for a long time there was a hole. It has been 4 or 5 years now since Sandy? And I see the homes of my loved ones--restored for a while, and now again under construction as the raise them high in the air to avoid another flood. And I realize that I forgot how intense every aspect of those disasters were. How the pendulum swung from panic, to immobilized shock, to inspired action, to a new normal, and now, looking back, I see the progress.

Every once in a while we need to look back and remember the pain so we can see how far we have come. Reading the newcomer's forums help me with that, even though sometimes it is too painful to go back. But things are so much better now--even though we still have a long way to go before we can admire our own personal freedom towers, our own raised homes. We are doing the work we need to do to raise ourselves above the chaos caused by our WHs.

Love and prayers to you my friend.
MS