Perhaps it was all of the frustration I was carrying around yesterday...the sense of loss...the sense of helplessness...the sense of powerlessness.
This tornado, if nothing else, has shown me that we - as people - are not as in control as we would like to think....
It has shown me that life is fleeting...and that your goals, your dreams, your plans - can change in the course of a few minutes.
Boom.
Your reality is now this: Before the tornado. After the tornado. Forevermore, your life will be defined by one moment on a Sunday afternoon when Mother Nature unleashed her fury and showed who really is in control.
A neighborhood playground...
As I drive through the streets of Joplin, I can only reflect on these things...passing mountains of splintered trees, sheet metal, smashed cars, and unrecognizable items pushed to the sides to allow cars to get through.
As I see the people of Joplin working in their shattered houses and yards, trying to recover anything that remains of "Before the tornado," my heart reaches out to them.
I want to reach through my window and tell them, "It's going to be okay."
But will it?
I'd like to think so.
I know the people here are strong. I know they have a fighting spirit. And I know they will get through this - not today, not tomorrow, not next week - perhaps not even next year - but eventually, life will return to a semblance of normalcy.
My days are long, hard and physical. I miss my family. I miss the familiarity of my world. I'm working as hard as I can in my Red Cross truck, delivering much-needed supplies to the people here to keep the recovery process flowing.
Just a few of our trucks at Red Cross Headquarters, awaiting instructions
If I feel the need to complain, all I have to do is look out my truck window, and I think to myself, "I'm sure the people of Joplin miss the familiarity of their world, too. Before the tornado."
So suck it up, Drama Queen.
There's work to be done.
Peace.
*Again, I will not be posting any photos of individual houses that were destroyed/damaged in Joplin out of respect for the people who lived there...I will only be posting photos of public buildings or businesses...I hope everyone understands.....
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