2017 Life Logs, Day 320: Touching Base with Friends and Family
Date: Thursday, November 16, 2017
Weather: Overcast and Stormy; High 51, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
I had a much needed slow start to my day, but then things speeded up a bit. I had lunch with Jane and Bruce Woodin. This was the first time I have seen them since their European tour and Jane’s subsequent Afib Ablation. Jane looks great and is feeling stronger every day. After lunch, I ran a few errands and then it was time to go pick up Sam at the bus stop. This was his first day back at school this week due to cold or flu like symptoms and it was cool and raining cats and dogs. So, I sent a text to Heather asking if it would be okay if I picked up Sam so he wouldn’t have to walk the half mile home in the rain. She gave me the thumbs up, so I picked him up and stayed at home with him until Heather arrived with the Jonah and Ollie. Then I got a call from Justin and we were on the phone for quite a while.
A lot is happening in Puerto Rico. Electricity is returning to areas near Justin’s house, running water returned on Sunday, and most of the packages of donated items have arrived. On Sunday Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco will be headed to Florida for the Handley family gathering.
But before they leave, they have a busy two days. Tomorrow Jo has her weekly Friday ‘school’ gathering at Finca Maravilla (the name of Justin and Jo’s property). On Saturday, she is running an art workshop for children as part of A Day of Happiness festival in the nearby community of Añasco. This community lost so much to Maria, so a community group headed by a social worker has been working with the community since the storm. Here’s today’s text message to me from Jo: “Assembling supplies for this Saturday’s ‘Day of Happiness’ in Añasco. I’m going to do a workshop with the kids in the neighborhood, ‘Color, Aroma, & Being in the Body: Moving Past Maria Together’… donated paints, sketch pads, coloring books and pens, modeling beeswax, many organic seeds to distribute, priority mailer box flaps that will be painted white tonight for canvases, bag of essential oils… thanks to you and Art for Hope for so many of these supplies… thanks also to many of your friends and contacts we will have solar lights, powdered milk, batteries, beef jerky, dried fruits and nuts also to have for people to take what they need… I thought you might like to see…
I will try to take a few pics from the day too…”
Moving beyond Maria is going to take quite a while. Today was a stormy day, very dark and windy, and Ziggy and Coco really freaked out. They ran to their bedroom to hide away saying that they really don’t want another hurricane. And this is from children who really didn’t lose their home. There are so many who lost everything and they are going to need support for a long time to come. So many of you have contributed so much. Justin and Jo have worked diligently to make sure that donations have been distributed to those most in need. And we just want you to know that your generosity has been overwhelming in such a positive way. On behalf of Justin and Jo and all of the people with whom they have shared the donations, a huge thank you to all of you who have given so generously.
I ended my day with a dinner with the Newcomers WIN (Women in Newcomers) dinner group at a nearby Mexican restaurant. I enjoyed the comradery of other women and the networking that can happen during a dinner. When I returned home, I got a text from Lynne of Ed and Lynne in Nyack, NY, asking if it was a good time for a phone call. It was, and we had a nice, long conversation. Life is good.
