I have so many things to be thankful for this week, I could write ten gratitude posts! However, the most important thing, as always, is the safety and wellbeing of family and friends.
Though nearly all of our extended family lives in New Jersey, no one suffered physical harm and no one had structural damage to their homes. Our hometown had almost no rain, but experienced hurricane Sandy winds. Extended power outages (some family are still without power!) and downed trees are, considering the experiences of so many others, relatively minor inconveniences.
Today, I am thankful that our family members were spared from the most extreme Hurricane Sandy impacts.
I have friends who live in the devastated Jersey shore areas and business acquaintances who live in New York City. My heart goes out to all of them for battered homes and lost family treasures. Some neighborhoods were torn apart beyond recognition. I do not know anyone personally who lost a family member, but I can’t even imagine that pain.
Our beloved Jersey Shore may never be the same as our memories would want it to be and that makes all of us sad in some way. As a child, my parents would take us to Wildwood; I spent a summer in Ocean City as a “mother’s helper” at a beachfront hotel; my high school friends had homes on Long Beach island; my in-laws invited the whole family to a rental in Avalon; and, more recently, my husband and I have spent several Labor Day weeks in beautiful Cape May.
The storm pictures and videos we’ve all seen are nearly incomprehensible. How those areas were fully affected and how they will move forward is still to be determined. What we do know is the damage is enormous and full recovery will be along time coming.
Today, I am also thankful for the spirit of New Jersey residents.
The rallying cry across the state has become “Jersey Strong!” That fight, that energy, that determination in my home state will get its residents through the short term and will also “Restore the Shore,” another slogan being used. The real New Jersey is not what you see on “reality” TV shows. It’s not Snooki and JWoww; it’s not the “Real Housewives.”
Jersey Strong is hard working, salt of the earth kind of people. They are loyal to family and friends. They will help their neighbor, no matter what. They will fight for what is right. They will conquer challenges together.
“Jersey Strong” isn’t about any one person, one business, one superstar; it’s about the average person, average family, average neighborhood, average community living an average life. And, there is nothing average about any of it.
Please join me and give to the Red Cross to help the people of New Jersey and all the other areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, click HERE. You can also quickly give $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999. Thank you.
