Man, I just find this so heartbreaking, so tragic. When I first heard about it I blew it off. At first, it was just another landslide and after all the rain we have had in the last month there's been a a lot.
I kept hearing more and more.
Then I saw a picture. Then another.
This was not just another mudslide; this was huge.
And so close to home.
Whoa.
Then I thought, "Oh my gosh. My Aunt and Uncle live off of 530!"
Sadly I realized I had no idea where since I hadn't seen them in years. (another post for another day) Thanks to Facebook I quickly found out they were fine, as were my cousin and his family who also live near the slide area.
I've read so many sad stories of the loss and the missing. That story of the 4 year old boy who was rescued. The boy's Mom was not at home but at work but the rest of the family is still missing. That poor boy. The fear that he experienced. Ugh. I can't even imagine. (Insert lump in throat.)
The Mom. She lost everything. Her husband, her other children. I can't imagine the pain...I just can't.
Then the Grandma, the firefighters wife, who was watching her 4 month old grand-daugher.
The people who were "just driving" on 530 who got swept away.
The list, the stories, they just go on. Each one just as heart breaking as the others.
Today I went into work. I was not prepared for the stories to become real. The driver of Darrington Hardware. Normally happy and upbeat, looked full of grief. A friend of his is missing....
A customer came in and the transaction started out normal. Then at the end he brought up the slide. His teenage son plays indoor football in Marysville, with the older brother of the 4 year old. Ugh. You could see his heart was broken. He mentioned that his son's team was to be at a game in Spokane Saturday, but it was canceled Friday. That family (of the 4 year old) would have been there, not at home when the slide happened. He knew that family, talked to them numerous times at the football games. He said the team have yellow ribbons to put on their jersey's. Yellow was the kids favorite color.
These people who have been affected, they aren't just in Oso or Darrington. They are everywhere; in all our local communities. Take the time to smile a little more frequently because chances are, at least one person you see will be somehow heartbroken by something in their life. Remember to kiss those you love and remind them just how much they mean to you because you just never know.
And pray for those who have lost family members, friends, or co-workers and for those who are still missing. They say some may never be found, again, I can't even imagine and I am so thankful I don't have to.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Anxiety.
I am pretty sure I have anxiety issues.
Going anywhere out of routine I get nervous, upset stomach (nauseous) and need to consciously breathe. No, I am not kidding, I get like this anytime we (I) go anywhere that is not in my normal day to day routine. On the way to taking Antonio to school on the day I was helping out in his classroom, I was a wreck. When I pulled a muscle in my back last week and was driving to the walk-in; I was a wreck. The list goes on, it's awful. When Antonio gets sick, it's the same thing.
There ought to be an anxiety pill specifically for Mom's (and Dad's too) for when their kid(s), baby, is sick. Really, there should be. Antonio has a bug. He woke up this morning sneezy, and a runny nose but nothing more. He ate like normal and acted normal so we went out our day. It wasn't until he asked to go up and take a nap (in his bed) in the middle of my workout...at 11:15 that I got concerned. I finished up, only about 10 min., and went up to check on him. Sure enough, he was in his bed with the light off, watching a show on his iPad, half asleep. He said he felt sick and needed to rest. I thought ok, go ahead and rest. He had a hard time breathing through his nose so I filled and turned on his humidifier. After about 20m he fell asleep, a good hour and a half before he usually naps. He slept for 1hr and 45m.
When he woke up he felt warm and my anxiety kicked in. He had gone to bed without lunch so I asked him if he was hungry for lunch, he said no. My anxiety kicked up another notch, he must really feel sick. We watched Toy Story while he clearly had a temperature by now. I convinced him to eat some apples and toast, which he did. When Toy Story was over he said he was sleepy and needed to back to his bed and snooze. By now he was feeling hot and was very lethargic. It was true, he caught a bug. He stayed in bed the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. He let me change his clothes so I could get him into jammies but thats about it. He wanted me or Albert to sit with him the whole time. :( Poor kid. We gave him a dose of tylenol to help him sleep and tucked him in for the night.
Here I lay, worried about him. My anxiety level is through the roof, partly feeling sick myself. Am I getting sick? Will he sleep through the night? Will he throw-up? Will his temperature go down? What happens if his temperature gets higher? What if, what if, WHAT IF??? I know in a week, hopefully much sooner, this will be a distant memory but for right now, as Peg in Peg + Cat (a PBS kid show) says, I am totally freaking out! :)
Damn you anxieties, damn you.
Going anywhere out of routine I get nervous, upset stomach (nauseous) and need to consciously breathe. No, I am not kidding, I get like this anytime we (I) go anywhere that is not in my normal day to day routine. On the way to taking Antonio to school on the day I was helping out in his classroom, I was a wreck. When I pulled a muscle in my back last week and was driving to the walk-in; I was a wreck. The list goes on, it's awful. When Antonio gets sick, it's the same thing.
There ought to be an anxiety pill specifically for Mom's (and Dad's too) for when their kid(s), baby, is sick. Really, there should be. Antonio has a bug. He woke up this morning sneezy, and a runny nose but nothing more. He ate like normal and acted normal so we went out our day. It wasn't until he asked to go up and take a nap (in his bed) in the middle of my workout...at 11:15 that I got concerned. I finished up, only about 10 min., and went up to check on him. Sure enough, he was in his bed with the light off, watching a show on his iPad, half asleep. He said he felt sick and needed to rest. I thought ok, go ahead and rest. He had a hard time breathing through his nose so I filled and turned on his humidifier. After about 20m he fell asleep, a good hour and a half before he usually naps. He slept for 1hr and 45m.
When he woke up he felt warm and my anxiety kicked in. He had gone to bed without lunch so I asked him if he was hungry for lunch, he said no. My anxiety kicked up another notch, he must really feel sick. We watched Toy Story while he clearly had a temperature by now. I convinced him to eat some apples and toast, which he did. When Toy Story was over he said he was sleepy and needed to back to his bed and snooze. By now he was feeling hot and was very lethargic. It was true, he caught a bug. He stayed in bed the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. He let me change his clothes so I could get him into jammies but thats about it. He wanted me or Albert to sit with him the whole time. :( Poor kid. We gave him a dose of tylenol to help him sleep and tucked him in for the night.
Here I lay, worried about him. My anxiety level is through the roof, partly feeling sick myself. Am I getting sick? Will he sleep through the night? Will he throw-up? Will his temperature go down? What happens if his temperature gets higher? What if, what if, WHAT IF??? I know in a week, hopefully much sooner, this will be a distant memory but for right now, as Peg in Peg + Cat (a PBS kid show) says, I am totally freaking out! :)
Damn you anxieties, damn you.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
God, are you there?
*First and foremost, please don't judge me (or this post). These are MY thoughts and beliefs only. I know some of you may not agree but thats ok. And lastly, I don't want to be "preached" to about any of this.
As some of you have read in Antonio's blog we finally decided to send Antonio to the school up the road from us instead of where he goes now. As mentioned, one of my favorite things about his current school is that he is learning about God, which he most definitely won't learn about in a public school. When I asked him yesterday if he knew what tomorrow (today) was (his day to spend with Papa) he responded with "chapel day at school." I asked what he does in chapel time and he happily said, "I learn about God.". That made my heart full. :)
After reading the post, one of my dearest and most faithful friends, texted me with, "Ya know, you could always take Antonio to church to learn about God. :)". She has a point, which then started a brief conversation via text about why I (we) don't go to church and it started me thinking.
A big part of it is that I am not really sure what I believe. I do believe in God but, is it only because that is what I was brought up to believe? I do believe there is something bigger than me/us but I am not exactly sure what. Then there's that "what denomination do I fall under?" question. I need a crash course on each one. What is the difference between each one?
I do believe we are equal and should be treated that way. I also strongly believe we should be able to love (and marry) whomever we want. I also believe in abortion but never as a form of birth control. I want to be able to drink wine/alcohol (as much as I want at any given time) without being frowned on or judged. I, 100%, believe everything happens for a reason. I would like to be able to become friends with people from a church and be able to have some conversations that never mention the subject God. I would like to "belong" to a church but not actually "go" to church. Does that make sense?
I would love to be able to send Antonio to Sunday school, leave him and then go back and pick him up later. Ha. Seriously though, the whole church thing is intimidating. All the praying, singing, preaching all at once is a bit much for me. I want to pray, think and talk about God whenever I want, in my own time and on my own terms; not specifically every Sunday for an hour. Yes, someday I'd like to attend a church but I don't want to ever force Albert, let alone Antonio to go with me. I do know that I don't have to go to church to have God love me or to go to Heaven.
Thank you Erin for never scolding me (for things I've done that I know you didn't agree with) or forcing me to believe what you believe. And thank you for always loving me for me enough to ask "those" questions without pushing. :)
As some of you have read in Antonio's blog we finally decided to send Antonio to the school up the road from us instead of where he goes now. As mentioned, one of my favorite things about his current school is that he is learning about God, which he most definitely won't learn about in a public school. When I asked him yesterday if he knew what tomorrow (today) was (his day to spend with Papa) he responded with "chapel day at school." I asked what he does in chapel time and he happily said, "I learn about God.". That made my heart full. :)
After reading the post, one of my dearest and most faithful friends, texted me with, "Ya know, you could always take Antonio to church to learn about God. :)". She has a point, which then started a brief conversation via text about why I (we) don't go to church and it started me thinking.
A big part of it is that I am not really sure what I believe. I do believe in God but, is it only because that is what I was brought up to believe? I do believe there is something bigger than me/us but I am not exactly sure what. Then there's that "what denomination do I fall under?" question. I need a crash course on each one. What is the difference between each one?
I do believe we are equal and should be treated that way. I also strongly believe we should be able to love (and marry) whomever we want. I also believe in abortion but never as a form of birth control. I want to be able to drink wine/alcohol (as much as I want at any given time) without being frowned on or judged. I, 100%, believe everything happens for a reason. I would like to be able to become friends with people from a church and be able to have some conversations that never mention the subject God. I would like to "belong" to a church but not actually "go" to church. Does that make sense?
I would love to be able to send Antonio to Sunday school, leave him and then go back and pick him up later. Ha. Seriously though, the whole church thing is intimidating. All the praying, singing, preaching all at once is a bit much for me. I want to pray, think and talk about God whenever I want, in my own time and on my own terms; not specifically every Sunday for an hour. Yes, someday I'd like to attend a church but I don't want to ever force Albert, let alone Antonio to go with me. I do know that I don't have to go to church to have God love me or to go to Heaven.
Thank you Erin for never scolding me (for things I've done that I know you didn't agree with) or forcing me to believe what you believe. And thank you for always loving me for me enough to ask "those" questions without pushing. :)
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