Friday, November 20, 2015

Community and What I Know For Sure

This past Saturday morning I took one of the dogs for a walk on the trails near our house.  The sun was shining brightly, the air was crisp and felt new.  My mind was reeling with the news of the attacks in Paris the night before and my heart was heavy.  I was weary already from all of the worry over Peyton's injury/surgery/hospital stay and all of the hovering over his return home a few days earlier.  I had gone to sleep feeling completely drained and vulnerable and feeling like everything everywhere was fragile.

As a I walked outside the next day, I breathed in the fresh, crisp, new morning air and soaked up the sunshine. Then I came upon a sign that said "community" (it was part of a community garden sign).  It was hard to see because of the bright sunshine, but it was there and it mattered.  




Community matters.  I saw firsthand what a difference having a community can make with so many people helping me with Peyton.

When Peyton got hurt on the football field a couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have people looking out for us, taking care of us before he was even loaded into the ambulance.  Two friends were by my side asking what I needed. They got my purse, they hugged me, they had my back.

After I posted information about Peyton's injury on social media, more people had my/our back. People that knew us a little bit, people that knew us a lot; people that are a part of our football world and people that are completely against having their kids play the sport; people from our neighborhood and people that lived in other states...they sent well wishes, made dinners, said prayers, sent text messages, came to visit us, bought us groceries. 

One friend called and said "what do you need?"

"I don't even know what I need," I told her in a completely frazzled out of breath way. I'd barely slept and Tim and I were juggling life and kids and worry and ahhhh.

"Just take a deep breath and think about it for a minute," my friend told me.

"I need toilet paper and milk," I laughed because I was embarrassed.

"Okay, I'll drop it off this morning," she said without one ounce of judgement. And then she did and then I cried because we had toilet paper and because I didn't have to run to the store and because people are so nice.

The kindness of people has truly blown me away. It's made me want to be better, do better, pay it forward, have someone's/everyone's back.  

When I think about our little corner of the world, I cling to the belief that there is a bigger world community full of love and empathy and goodness.  People that have each other's backs especially in times that can feel sad, scary and/or uncertain.  A community that cares for one another. Just like that sign, it may be hard to see sometimes, but I truly believe it's out there. And it's in these times of vulnerability and uncertainty that we need that loving community the most, I know that for sure.  



Here's what else I know for sure this week:


  • Dogs are also good to have around when life gets all scary and sad. Rufus is the best cuddler.




  • Good storytellers are some of my personal heroes. They are magical and beautiful and I love them.  I am so honored to personally know one of the best.  My friend Satori Shakur is so good.  Listen to her talk about her breast cancer and her body and her power. 
http://wdet.org/posts/2015/11/12/81915-08-the-end-of-pride/


  • Speaking of stories, I am so excited to announce I am co-producing the third year of Listen To You Mother in Detroit this spring. Woot! Woot! Here's a little video I made about last year's show and the announcement of this year's. Check it out.

LTYM 2015 from Jumping With My Fingers Crossed on Vimeo.


  • Dude, I feel old. After months of holding menus and books at arm's length I bought my first pair of "readers." My kids call them my granny glasses and that's cool.  I kind of love them. And most importantly, I can read again.



What do you know for sure this week?  Tell me here or on my Facebook page.

And come play with me on Instagram-
https://instagram.com/jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed/


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