ronda

I am blessed to have so many great friends.  Truly, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't pause and give thanks for the many incredible, smart, funny and generous people I'm lucky to call my friends.

I met Ronda when we were in middle school.  We had braces back then.  We were just starting to go boy crazy.  We read each other's poetry and we journeyed through high school together, also visiting each other throughout college.  I visited her when she went away to chiropractic college in California. She was in my wedding.  And we get together when we can to visit.   She's been a true friend all of these years, and we share a rich history of friendship, adventures and stories.  I'm lucky to call her my friend.

Last week, Ronda did something so truly selfless and incredible. Something so out of the realm of comfort and safety.  Something that's inspiring and has left me in awe.

Ronda put her medical practice and personal life on hold, and joined 13 other chiropractors, and traveled to Haiti on a humanitarian mission.  They stayed in tents on top of a house at an orphanage amid the post massive earthquake rubble, and gave care to people in tent cities and remote mountain villages.

When I first saw her amazing photos, I didn't even know what to say. Its heartbreaking to see these people, especially the children, living in these conditions.  It makes you count your many blessings in life.  That these children can live with hardly any comfort, no family support, and still smile, play games and laugh..well, it just brings me to tears.

I wish I could share all of her photos, but this is a sample that tells part of the story.

Devastation.

This is the orphanage where they stayed.

They stayed on the roof of this abandoned house at the orphange.  There was less of a chance of having things stolen by staying on the roof, plus the kids pee all over the floor of the orphanage.  Also, they could catch a breeze sleeping on the roof. Ronda's tent is the white one to the right.

They gave chiropractic care to those in pain.

This picture got to me the most.

Angelica, Jay Z and Jessica. They lost their parents in the earthquake. 

Ronda with Angelica and Jessica.  I think she left a piece of her heart with them.

Most people (myself included) talk about helping. Maybe it all seems so far away; maybe we just aren't sure what we can really do to make a difference. But Ronda actually went beyond the $10 Red Cross donations and touched peoples' lives.  I can't imagine doing something like this and it not changing you forever.

I know Ronda says she got much more out of this trip than she gave. I'm so proud to have a friend with such a kind, generous heart.

Haiti

This past Monday was the MLK holiday, and schools were closed.  We took the opportunity to hang out with my Mom, Aunt Jessica (my SIL) and my niece and nephew for the day.  The weather was beautiful and mild, and we took the kids to lunch and were heading back to my house for an afternoon of playing together.

On our way home, we came upon a bustling bake sale in the parking lot of a little store near my house.  Enthusiastic kids, moms and dads were waving drivers in, balloons were flying and all the signs said "Cupcake Sale" and "Kids 4 Haiti".  Of course we pulled in.

We live in a bubble and I know in all honesty, my kids will probably, hopefully, never have to think about being hungry or cold, or not having any shoes or clean clothes to wear.  There isn't a day that goes by I'm not thankful for all we have and can give to our kids.  One of my friends was recently telling her third grade son about what's happening in Haiti and that the people there don't have enough to eat.  He replied "Well, why don't they just go to Costco and buy more?".  Its just beyond their comprehension what it would mean to be hungry, to not have dry clean clothes and a bed to sleep in.  I can't even imagine it myself.

I have seen images of some of the children in Haiti, who are now burned beyond recognition, parentless, homeless, and it makes my heart hurt. 

When the tragedy in Haiti occurred, Andrew and I sat down to talk to Dylan about it.  We showed him where Haiti was on Google Earth, and talked about what happened there.  We didn't share any pictures with him....we've always been very consistent about not watching the news when the kids are awake.  They're always listening, even when we think they aren't, and the world is just too scary sometimes.  We'd rather tell them of events in terms we think they can understand.  And we tried to put Haiti into terms he could comprehend.  Not to scare him, but just to make him aware that sometimes horrible things happen to innocent people and we have to be grateful for everyday we live. 

We told him we were making a small donation to Red Cross, and that if lots of people all made a small donation, more people there could get the water and food and medicine they need.  We thought briefly he was going to offer some of his own Christmas money.  We didn't expect him to, but really the point was to have him understand when tragedies like this happen, its important to have compassion and try to help people. 

So, on Monday, we pulled into this bake sale.   There were tables and tables of cupcakes, every color imaginable. Cookies, brownies as far as you could see.  And so many smiling kids and their parents, all spending their day off of school and work trying to raise money for the people of Haiti.  There were no prices.  You chose what you wanted and donated what you could.  And it was just swarming with people waiting for a parking space to open up.

People pulling in to buy a cupcake or two, just to feel in some small way, they were helping.

Today, I saw in our local paper that cupcake bake sale on Monday raised $5,789 for Haiti.  The woman who organized it said the money she thought she'd raise over the entire day was raised in the first hour.  Here is a video of her talking about the idea, and how it came about in a very short amount of time.  (Click on Kids 4 Haiti on right side, it won't let me embed this clip into my post).

I'm so sorry for the pain and suffering so many are enduring in Haiti.  And I'm not implying that buying a few cupcakes is going to solve the problems of the world.  But it at least reminded me that sometimes the biggest tragedies bring out the very best in people, and sometimes we have to look for the that little silver lining and embrace it.