Last Saturday two boys from my son’s high school went hiking in the foot hills of Mount Hood and did not come home. Over 50 search and rescue team members set out in the rain the next day to comb treacherous terrain – they did not find the boys.
Image from ABC News
The next day the weather cleared and a National Guard helicopter was brought in to help with the search. Needless to say, everyone in our community was very concerned! My son Logan was friends with one of the boys, but no one was allowed to help in the search because of the difficulty of traversing the area where they were lost.
Image from Oregon Live
Meanwhile I had caught a stomach bug on Sunday and a serious case of the grumpies! I was feeling sorry for myself about just about everything, it seemed like nothing was working out in my favor. In the course of running errands on Monday I drove past the High School and saw the school buses lined up in front waiting to take students home for the day. It was a very clear wake up call to me: two of my children were safe and happy inside that building, there were two other mother’s in West Linn who would have given ANYTHING to know their children were safe inside that building as well. I needed to get over myself! Step outside of my own daily trouble, and trust me there are some whoppers, but I needed to see the big picture!
Thankfully, that afternoon the boys were found, shaken but not harmed!
At the same time this truly life or death situation was occurring in our town the entire north eastern United States was preparing to meet Sandy.
We all know the devastation she has brought. My heart goes out to all who have been affected. Going through an ice storm many years ago and experiencing a flooded basement, and no power for five days while I had a 4 year old, 2 year old and was pregnant with my third I know that just a loss of power can be extremely disruptive to families. If you are on the east coast and able to read this please know the rest of the country is ready and willing to help. We hold you in our hearts and can’t wait to put our hands to work as well.
I believe I need to step back from the upheaval in my personal life and see the beauty all around me. It is my resolution to share something I am grateful for every single day from November 1st through Thanksgiving.
I will be blogging everyday and welcome your stories and input here and on our Facebook page about your life and your experience with gratitude.
I am grateful for the safe return of our West Linn boys, they said they kept walking because they knew Taco Bell wasn’t coming to them! I am grateful that Logan and the entire West Linn Band had a chance to share a Taco Bell lunch with the boys to celebrate their return today!
I am grateful that I have power to write this tonight and my children were given the gift of celebrating a Halloween far removed from Sandy’s path of destruction.
I am grateful that the sight of those school buses knocked some sense into me!
I am grateful for you and the chance to share my story, my vision, my passion about homes and families, including my own.
I am grateful that two teenage boys taught me to keep walking – Taco Bell is not coming to me!
With love and thanks,
xo Barbara
