I'll say a little about my trip to Moore, but I think I'm kind of a day late and a dollar short on that one... These last two weeks have been CRAZY!!! Getting everything together for Moore, going to Moore, and then recovering,. Sprinkled in with 2 trips to Laramie to drop of the dog and pig him up, recovering from the Bolder Boulder, and working a full time job... My time management skills are poor on an easy day and these last two weeks were far from easy! I haven't touched my running shoes or the gym since the Bolder Boulder :-( I'm disappointed in myself, but life happens and sometimes you need a little break.
I actually packed my running shoes for our trip to Moore, but we didn't get there the first night till 11, were up at 6 on Sunday, didn't get home till about 10 on Sunday, were up at 8 on Monday, and weren't home till about 9, then Tuesday when we drove home by the time I got back from getting the dog it was after 10 :-( There just wasn't time. I know that Monday and Tuesday morning I could of "made time", but I was EXHAUSTED and embracing every minute of sleep I was getting, plus the hotel gym was out of commission and I wasn't so sure about running outside since I didn't know the area very well... I wouldn't say I fell off the wagon because I'm itching to get my fitness on, BUT I would say that I'm probably dragging behind the wagon holding on for dear life! I made a deal with myself to go to bed early last night and get up and run today, but I didn't fall asleep nearly as early as I wanted too, and I didn't pop out of bed till 7 :-( yes I could of still made a run happen, but it would of been rushed, and my runs tend to be uber crappy when I don't have time to eat before them. And for the first time in FOREVER I feel caught up on sleep and like a real human being again so I don't regret it one bit! Sometimes you need mental health days! I signed up for the community color run tomorrow FOREVER ago (it was the first race I signed up for), so I'm still going to do it, but I'm definitely downgrading to the 5k from the 10k! I'm hoping I don't die!
On another note I am jumping back on the My Fitness Pal bandwagon. I only used it for a few weeks, because I thought I could do it without it (and I'm lazy), but I know that I am definitely going over my calories with all my snacking and I need it to hold me accountable! I just realized this morning that in 2 weeks I will be waking up in Vegas :-) I know I am not going to transform my body in 2 weeks (Hell I've had 4 and 1/2 months and haven't made progress!), but I am going to work hard and eat right so I can feel good about myself and the effort I put in when it comes time to put on a swim suit.
And now time for a little Moore recap... I don't even know what to say honestly. The devastation is so overwhelming, and heart stopping that it just makes you gasp when you see it. The pictures really don't do it justice. I truly can't imagine being in these people's situation. I don't know how they literally pick up the few pieces of what's left of their life and begin to piece it back together. Yes, I know it is just stuff, but still it's your whole life! I wonder how they do basic things like get to work? Along with their home's there were thousands and thousands of cars that were just smashed into unrecognizable bits. And what about all their work clothes? Yes, there were TONS of clothes donated, but do people donated nice work clothes? Where are they going to live? Yes they are in a hotel now, but is that where they stay for a year or more till their house is repaired? Where will they get meals when everyone leaves? The red cross, salvation army, and butterball have all already left town. What happens to them then when they are still in hotels without kitchens? My heart just breaks for these people, I really don't know how they do it.
The most amazing thing though was the positive attitude that so many of them had! I think after 3 major tornadoes they all just have the attitude that it is just stuff and at least they are alive. When you see how everything is just GONE and what is left is completely mangled you really grasp how much of a miracle it is that the death toll isn't higher. You never want to say only because every single one of the 24 lost is a tragedy, but it really is amazing that the death wasn't in the hundreds. We stopped by the Orr Family Farm on Sunday evening to see if any of the horses were still there and if they needed any vet supplies (they weren't they have all been moved else where), and Dr. Orr happened to be the one we found when we got there. He stopped and talked to us for 15 or 20 minutes telling all about the damage and the day it happened. He said when he came out of his house the first thinig he saw was that all his barns were gone, but one so he immediately began thinking of the elementary school (his property runs right up to Briarwood Elementary) which he couldn't see either. He said he thought for sure everyone had to be dead, that there was no way they could of survived, and sure enough that is the school where they ALL survived.
I had two favorite/most impactful moments from the trip. The first was on Sunday when we were dropping off our people donations to the church, the pastor took the time to stop and talk to me. He was telling me all about the community, and his congregation and then he stopped and he said you know the best part of all of this is that I never had to ask for any of it. All I said was I've got space and all of this showed up. It made me smile somewhere deep inside my soul, I love knowing that there is still good in people, and that things like this still happen. The second moment was Monday when we were helping Dr. Orr clear trees from drive (he's in his 80's so it definitely wasn't something he himself could be doing, although I have no doubt he would of tried!) he came by right before we finished and he said "you know the funny thing is right before my wife passed away she was saying she wanted to get rid of all these trees. I bet she is up there chuckling now, knowing that even though she is gone she is still getting her way." The positive attitude of those who were SO affected blew my mind. I don't know how they do it, I think I would be a bitter upset wreck if it happened to me. Being "Oklahoma Strong" really is a bred of their own. They are pretty amazing.
Some of my favorite furry friends I met
Donations to the animal shelter, they had another cart of them and we had at least this much that went to the humane society
First pulling into Moore
Driving down one of the Main streets
Pulling into the Orr Family Farm the red barn is a part of a kids play land he had. It had trains, zip lines, merry go rounds, and all sorts of fun things for kids and most of it will have to be torn down and re built
The only barn where the horses survived
More of the kid's area
The piles of debris along the road were huge! And there is still SO much left to clean up
The second tornado also brought massive flooding :-( This was Sunday and the water was just barely below flood stage
Hard to below those were cars
Church we dropped donations off too, there were several other tables, a whole WALL of water, and then they had more tables set up gong down another hall way
More of the donations
No comments:
Post a Comment