HOW DO YOU SPELL RESILIENCE?

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Boy that is an easy question to answer. It is spelled  A M E R I C A!!!  The last couple of days I have watched some interesting shows.  An aside here.  I usually watch only sappy Christmas movies at this time of year.  The formula is girl meets boy they quarrel and leave and there is an intervening wonderfulness and they get back together.  Or it is a family who are fine meet disaster and overcome it with help from their town or otherwise.  Heartfelt sappy stories of Americana and happiness.

Sunday night we watched Neil Cavuto’s previously DVR ‘d show, “Fly Me To The Moon”, about the astronauts and the space program.  It took us from the beginnings to the end of the race to the moon including the sacrifices along the way and the joys of steps on the moon.  It was inspirational and full of American determination and resilience.

Yesterday I watched another DVR’d show as Rachel Ray, ala Oprah, gave away thousands of dollars of gift cards and products to 133 people that were struck by Sandy.  She showed the stories of heroism of the storm and what people were doing to regroup now.  As I watched I shared the joy as these people were given lots of help to get them back on their feet.  She even gave everyone a trip to get away from the stress for a few days.  There were tears everywhere in her audience and especially on my couch!

It led me to think back to 9/11 and the aftermath.  I thought of all the fires, hurricanes and other recent weather related disasters.  I thought of the shootings on a college campus in Virginia and elsewhere.  Gabby Giffords shot outside of a supermarket in Arizona.  In a Colorado movie theater.  In a Wisconsin Mosque.  I thought of the Mall in Oregon.  Of course the school in Newtown, Connecticut.   I came to the realization that no one place is safe any longer in this country.  There is no way we can ever do enough to be safe every single day of our lives.

Never will the deaths be forgotten.  America does not let that happen.  There will be memorials like the Vietnam Wall, Oklahoma City or Ground Zero.  Quiet peaceful places to leave our sorrow when it arises.

Innocence is gone for most now.  As I was in this dark place in my thoughts the question came to my mind.  How do you spell resilience?  And I smiled.  I know that America will  once again survive this tragedy.  In the end the spirit that is the USA will come through this.  There is no ‘getting over’ anything like this.  America will plow through it as only this nation can with determination and caring and love for our neighbors.  You watch this and make some notes.  You will see us all doing more than ever before.  Kindness will abound.

It is like the Grinch.  For awhile our hearts will be a little smaller and less trusting.  We may be a little more wary.  We may lock our doors where we didn’t.  We may now start locking cars in our own driveways.  We may hold our children’s hands a little longer as we walk to school.  We may be a little bit more quiet.  Then like the Grinch’s heart we will let go and our tears will be wiped away.  We will smile a little more often.  We will trust once again.

One morning we will be walking our child to school and they will run ahead and there will be no worry.  Instead we will laugh and let go.  Another day we will run out of the house to do our errands and forget to lock the door and that too will be okay.  Our hearts will be refilled with the air of happiness as the darkness of these days ebbs away.

Death and destruction around Thanksgiving and Christmas are especially hard to handle.  I saw the generosity at Thanksgiving after Sandy and know that will come again as well.  Nothing can replace the loss of home or child.  No one gets ‘over’ that.  America can get through it.  America will get through it.

Resilience is spelled A M E R I C A!  We have been to the moon and back and nothing is impossible in the good old USA!

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…