Well, it’s been a bit since my last entry. I just reread my political rant and I have to say that I’m pleased with it. I still feel the same, even as the “war” with Iraq is almost over now. It is all propaganda, no matter if it’s Baghdad Bob or our own media, you know. But this entry is not about our Bush Family Follies. No, it is about a lot more important stuff than that.
As the folks who read me already know, I and my closest friends had a life changing event a couple of weeks ago. I don’t want to rehash the event here, but a brief sketch is in order. On Sunday, March 30, 2003, my best friends’ house burned. They were to move out that day, only hours after the fire took all they had. They lost their beloved pets (a dog and a cat), a Betta fish and just about every single thing they owned. They did not have Renters Insurance (Do YOU??). It was horrific and it could have been avoided had their negligent landlord FIXED the goddam house in the first place. Bastard.
That event has set into motion some changes that I’ve still not totally comprehended. For those of you who know me, you know I’m the Organizer, the Jewish Mother, the One Who Gets Things Done. It was no different that Sunday. I put aside my horror, my fear, my sadness, my intense desire to commit murder, my state of shock and all the rest of it to get ahold of the situation and take care of the details. I called everyone who needed to know what happened. I scooped them up and brought them to my home to get them OUT of that burnt shell of a house. I organized the salvage of the most important items that day and I drove the truck myself. I took pictures. I organized the salvage operation over Monday and Tuesday to ensure that every possible item that could be saved WAS. I delegated jobs to the people at hand. I had Nick set up the PayPal account to wrangle donations from LiveJournal and other internet folk who wanted to help. I shopped. I washed clothes twice to try and get rid of that smell. During all this, I worked a shift and attended the memorial for the pets. And then worked some more.
Then I crashed. Hard. Saturday night rolled around with a 10 hour day at Rich’s (with more business than fucking Christmas). I came home and after some choice words with Nick, I collapsed into a screaming, crying mess. Then I slept about 11 hours.
After all this, I emerged. I was tired physically, emotionally, psychically. But I was also a changed woman. I realized how much I have to be grateful for and how much those crazy, disorganized, messy people really mean to me. I bitch about their total inability to clean up after themselves. But you know what? Those two mean the world to me. They really are my family – along with Nick and Andy, of course – and I can tell you for damn sure that had they been in that house, I’d not be writing this. As bad as it was dealing with the death of the animals (and it was bad) had anyone been in that house when it burned, there is no way on this earth that I could’ve gotten through that. No way. I’m strong, but I ain’t that strong.
So, I am grateful that it’s over and we’re all here, together. ‘Cept for Andy, and that is something that can’t be helped at the moment, unfortunately. This experience has altered my reality so much that I’ve not seen all of it yet. I can tell you that my misanthropy is at an all-time low. I can tell you that I say “I love you” a whole lot more. I can tell you that I thank God, Goddess and everyone else every day that we’re here. And this sure has put stupid shit into perspective. All the dramas of people pale in comparison to mortality. That silly “war” has also been put in its place.
I know that I’m not the only one whose reality has been altered. It’s happened to us all. And I, for one, am grateful for it.