Hurricane Ian, now deemed a tropical storm, moved in through the night last night. We knew he was coming, had days to prepare. But no matter how hard you shutter and shelter, there still is that hype that surrounds any storm. Up north, we had our snow days. We raced to the store to purchase bread we wouldn’t eat even on our best day! We bought water in gallons, filled our tubs, built fires and pulled out the shovels and roof rakes. Yes, I had a roof rake! I do not have a roof rake, snow shovel or blower or any facsimile of either of those things now that I’ve moved south.

But, we do have storms. If you could press on the picture above, you’d see my little Charlie Brown tree waving its little branches in the wind. Until recently, we had her spiked in place. Now she’s testing her branches; we’ll see how she fares. As of now, Ian is starting to show his true colors! I’ve not filled the tub, like I did up north, but I have bought gallon jugs of water, cases of bottled water, more food than I probably need, and braved the streams of traffic and shoppers and aisles filled with panicky people. We are not Florida (boy does my heart go out to them!), and this sure is not Connecticut, but our habits are all the same! We are a culture prone to panic, who probably reads too much online, watches too much weather channel and maybe even a little too much news. We’re silly, and at that we can mostly all laugh. We like our home comforts. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But, as for all the other hype out there, we all just need to go outside. Outside, out of our political comfort zones. Plant flowers, walk dogs, breathe, and talk to one another, and listen too…and something else. Look each other in the eye and…care for one another. Go beyond kind. Skip the bravado. Be human. Those who have little, or those caught in the eye of this storm need a culture of humanness. People who are grateful for what they have and are willing to share their time, energy and maybe even a bit of their money to add a little comfort to someone else. I remind myself of this especially in times like these, when I have so much to be thankful for…that it can not only be about me.

We in NC are very fortunate. Here are a few places to find ways to help: Save the Children
How to Help Hurricane Victims