Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Nor’Easters ~ Help!

I feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz…truly…it’s been one thing after another here for this Jersey Gal.  Hurricane Sandy last week gave us downed trees, power outages, loss of food, loss of life ~ not to mention destruction of property in overwhelming proportions.  Sandy devastated the surrounding areas and many, including my sister and Mom are still without power.  Now I know that we can’t compare Sandy to Andrew or Katrina…but still…and she arrived on Monday October 29th.

One week later, on Monday November 5th, we had an earthquake in Ringwood, NJ  ~ just one week after Sandy hit…which personally I didn’t feel where I live.  A 2.0 magnitude which was reportedly heard as a loud boom for those awake at 1am in the morning.  For an area which is still power deprived, still cleaning up after Hurricane Sandy, I just can’t imagine the fright that the earthquake gave those who felt it.

And then, last night…just two days later, a Nor’Easter hit us.  A Nor’Easter is defined as a macro storm blowing in from the northeast.  Weathermen had been telling us that we would experience heavy rains and high winds in my area…instead, we received a heavy mantle of white snow to the tune of 5 inches at my home which was pretty to watch as it came down, but only if you were happily bundled in a warm home with heat and food.  Luckily for us, we have power, I had made homemade chicken soup and we had heat and each other.

It’s the simple things in life my friends.

Shelter, food and love and not necessarily in that order…but for now, yes, in that order.

So I’m asking for help here…not for myself but for those who need it…for those who’ve lost everything.  The Red Cross is a charitable, well-known, hard-working group who are here, providing water, shelter, clothing, blood for hospitals and funds for those who need it.  Perhaps you would like to help but don’t know what you can do…below please find some links ~ you can donate from your cell phone by texting ~ you can donate blood for those who need it ~ you can donate online if you choose.

If you can’t do any of the above, then I simply ask that you take a moment to give…

Thanks for the littlest to the biggest blessings that you have in your life. 

From shelter and food, to love and family…to health, to wealth and to an abundance of clean, fresh air that we breathe…to water, to blankets, to smiles and to heartfelt hugs which are abundant when you choose.

Click below to…

Donate to the Red Cross!

Be thankful, be generous…be blessed.

Thank you from my heart.

xo

Gratitude Day 28 ~ My Hometown

Life,  Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

I feel so grateful that my hometown and coincidentally, my Dad’s hometown, is acknowledging him this Saturday by flying the flags at half-mast.  My Dad loved our hometown and never left the town which he grew up in ~ he always said he would leave his childhood home in which he raised his own family, ‘feet first’ and my Dad was a man of his word.

Dad knew his hometown’s history, having lived there 75 years.  He would drive by various parts of town, telling us the history and how some of the buildings were the originals.  There’s the bend in the road by a pond where as a child, he watched the Queen of England pass by on her way through our town.  Funny that sometimes when I drive on that part of the road, I can hear him telling me the story.  He knew the families who resided in the area and enjoyed learning the history of each of them.  Like one of those old town family doctors (he wasn’t a doctor), he was privy to much information and always kept family secrets.

I have been so grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers from many of the residents.   One particular message I received was, “I will tell you that his involvement with the installation of the new monument was something that I know made him very proud.  I also would consider him to be the “unofficial” chairman/ringleader of our town’s Veterans.  He was the one pushing all of them to come out each year and march in the Parade or attend the Vets Day Ceremony.”

My Dad was patriotic having served in the military for many years.  He loved history and could regale his audience with big and little known facts about many subjects.  He was proud of the fountain of knowledge in his head.  Unfortunately, he never had the time to write it all down, so there are only the scraps of memories which we hold dear to live on in his memory.

There’s much to be said about your hometown and never leaving it…

Bruce Springsteen writes about it and as a Jersey Girl

I am grateful to Our Hometown…

My Hometown video by Bruce