A Hot Sidewalk, A Lost Dog, A Young Girl & A Man Of Honor

The last few weeks have been quite the ride (heck, if I'm being honest - when hasn't our life been like that?) and I wanted to give a public shout out to the guy standing beside me. We have definitely had quite the journey to get to where we are and I know there's much, much more to come. I'm grateful for his belief in my me and my abilities, the way he sees how things "can be" and how when we work together we really can create those dreams and his never-wavering drive to do more, be more and seek for more. When you hear those cute little sayings about marriage being a "team effort"?  Absolutely. 

This afternoon, as he's working on setting up a computer upstairs & I'm organizing, sorting, creating and cleaning downstairs, we took a few minutes to sit down at the table and talk. We're sitting there, all the dogs up and down this road are going nuts and I glance towards the front window and see a dog's tail sticking up in the air next to our rose bush. "Ugh...someone's dog is out front." He goes out to see whose it is and chase it off if need be. As soon as he opens the door, I hear his tone of voice change and a gentle "Is that your doggy? What's your doggy's name? Was he lost?" And he shuts the door behind him.

Maybe 2 minutes pass and I walk out to see what's going on. I see him, dressed only in a pair of shorts - no shirt, no shoes - holding the collar of a young German Shepherd, slightly bent over, talking and walking with a little girl. I smile to myself and walk down to the mailbox. By the time I get to the mailbox my bare feet are on fire - it's 92 degrees outside. I turn and see my honey, the dog and this little girl turning the corner still walking and talking. 

By the time I got back in the house, grabbed my keys, got in the car and took off after them they were one house away from hers. Dog & girl returned safely, husband with burning feet retrieved.

That little girl was 2, maybe 3 years old. She was a cute little blonde thing who had obviously been playing in her front yard with her young dog that didn't listen very well yet. It's hot outside so she was in a bathing suit and no shoes either. When her doggy took off, she took off after him and ended up in our front yard almost 2 blocks away. The road in front of our house may be a 20 mph an hour road, but most people don't drive nearly that slow. There was an unmarked delivery van a couple of houses down (I did see him carrying a package out, but that just as easily could have been a bad guy). So many things could have gone terribly wrong for her this afternoon. All that sweet girl knew was her dog took off and she needed to get him.

As I was sitting here afterwards, replaying all of it in my head I was so overwhelmed with gratitude for the man I married. He didn't have to do what he did, but without second-guessing what the right thing to do was, he did it. He could have done nothing, he could have handed her the dog's collar and sent her on her way, he could have got her across this road and left her to go the rest of the way on her own. Those thoughts never even crossed his mind. She was on her own, she was upset and she needed a hero. 

These moments, friends, are those gentle reminders of what being a good person, a person of honor and integrity is about. It's not about saying the right things, or acting a certain way in front of people - it's all about what we say and do when no one is watching. That's what defines goodness. I'm grateful for that man and who he is. 

If Only Someone Had Warned Them...

As this day begins, I can't help but feel a tremendous sense of sadness for my former co-workers. For roughly the last 5 days, about 25% of the texts or messages I'm getting from you guys are about the 'Rona. This person has it, that person has all the symptoms, so-and-so's kids are getting it, I'm getting tested...and on and on.

Friends, I tried. 

My raising the alarms was never SOLELY about me and my family, although they were certainly my number 1 concern. It wasn't safe for any of us and I knew that. It was that knowledge that isn't just "common sense" or "reasonable".  It was a prompting, an urgency, that came from an unseen power that was telling me I needed to make a stand. Whether you believe in a Higher Power that sends direction and guidance or not, I don't know. I've seen it happen too many times in my life to believe anything other than that. I'm not religious, but I am spiritual and I listen. That "voice" has saved me more times than I can count and I know better than to ignore it.

Did I think I'd get fired for speaking truth? No. Would I do it again? Yes. Right is always right, no matter how others paint it or change the story.

As I see so many of you struggling I can't help but be struck by how wholly avoidable this whole fiasco was. Those of you with compromised immune systems, those of you caring for aging and disabled family members, those of you who are just miserable, those of you with little ones...it didn't have to be this way. Yet here we are. 

Rather, here you are. Today is my 14th day away from there so my period of concern is ending but yours is running forward at full speed. My antibody test was negative so, even though I was horribly sick for two months, it was apparently not the 'Rona. My fears were, without question, more than justified. 

I am sorry so many of you are suffering needlessly. I am sorry that someone's pride was too loud to listen to the one voice who was speaking up. I'm not sorry I stood up for what I knew to be true and right though because that's likely the very thing that is sparing my family. (Knock on wood)

My thoughts and prayers are with each of you and your families.