The Calm Before The Storm

Irma is on its way. The sheer size of it is daunting as it batters all in its path. When it shifted slightly west, the east coast of Florida took no comfort since this hurricane is the size of Texas. It covers both coasts of Florida. All our preparations are completed, all supplies purchased, all safety plans in place. We just await Irma's arrival.

The sky turned gray early this morning with clouds full of rain from another smaller storm. Wind starts to stir the trees where yesterday they stood still. The yard is clear of all furniture, moveable plants and decorative fixtures less they become projectiles. The brick work and flagstone paths get to show off without competition. The plants, new this spring, are in for a good soaking after braving the hot summer. I feel close to them since I fuss over them daily since they came. Besides their colorful beauty, they attract butterflies and bees and let me think I help counteract their dwindling numbers.

The Purple Heart plant surrounds the statue of St Francis now. It spreads its stems, accented by small dark pink flowers, vigorously. The whole display is an unplanned result of losing the three foot diameter water oak that used to grow there. That meant a stump in need of camouflage. And the local garden store threw a sale to clear space for summer items. St Francis carried an extra discount since his residence in the store was longer then anticipated. The statue has special meaning to me and to my Honey because of some spiritually significant trips to Assisi when we lived in Italy. He brings happy memories.

Weather updates stream on any device I open. Take this seriously they say. Take shelter. I decided to dial down the anxiety and take a walk in the yard. I love my yard. It brings me peace. All moveable plants now reside in the narrower alley next to the house where they are more protected and have each other's company. It makes me feel better.

I'll head for my sister-in-law and niece's tomorrow as they have a generator and generous hearts. Loss of electricity is a given according to Jacksonville's mayor. All else is unknown at this time other than Irma hits tomorrow evening or night. I wait. I hope for the best.

Getting Enough Food

A young girl came to the Food Pantry where I volunteer and asked if I needed help carrying in the bags with donated items. She's a bouncy eight year old. 'Sure', I said, and gave her the lightest bag. "This is my mother's first time here", she said. "Sometimes we're hungry so we came for food." A simple yet stunning admission in this country of plenty. An estimated 281,000 people just in northeast Florida struggle to put food on their table and that includes over 80,000 children. She was one of them.

Our Food Pantry has 10,000 people registered and is only one of 106 food distribution programs in Duval County, our little corner of the world. Surrounding counties that make up the rest of northeast Florida  account for another 53. I had no idea the extent of the problem of hunger before volunteering at the Food Pantry. I've been researching ever since to get educated.

Turns out that 46 million Americans turn to Feeding America network for food support through their 61,000 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters across America, the richest nation on earth. Of those, 43.1 million have incomes at or below that poverty level. But this isn't about statistics, it's about individuals I meet on the days I work.

Mike comes and wants to be called a traveler rather than homeless. We give him extra supplies for personal care in addition to food. We do that for all travelers. Betty is a grandmother who can't work and cares for her 4 grandchildren. She depends on food stamps but only receives $88.00 a month. She needs the food pantry to augment food for her family. It's still not enough. Althea is disabled by a heart condition, can't work and struggles to feed herself and her 2 children.

I learn new words volunteering at a food pantry- food insecurity, limited food access, uncertain food access and an old word describing new people- hunger. They're ugly words underlying ugly realities of not enough food to supply health for many of our neighbors. Mostly faith-based and nonprofit agencies provide the food distribution of donated goods from food manufacturers, agricultural communities, food wholesalers and retailers, federal commodity programs and local community food banks. People, stores and companies give generously.

I'm impressed at the strict accountability we maintain at our food pantry. We keep substantial records to verify conformity to federal and state safe food handling standards. I'm also impressed at the prevailing compassion I witness, the effort to reduce shame or reluctance. We spread the message that food is the most basic human right and we give what we have to those who need it. Gladly. Gratefully.

So I encourage you to look around your little corner of the world. The hungry often stay hidden. But networks and resources exist to provide food to those who need it. Find out where they are in your area and refer those who lack enough food. Get involved. Donate. Volunteer. Listen to the stories. Each person has a story. What stories have touched your heart?

Things I learned This Week That I Didn't Know Before

In search of alignment, enlightenment, life-long learning and/or reasons for action:

1. To wander is a Taoist metaphor for ecstasy. (Lynn Darling, Out of The Woods)

2. In Bali, believers face north to pray and their word for insanity translates "not knowing where north is." (Lynn Darling, Out of The Woods)

3. Despite decades of affirmative action, black and Hispanic students are more underrepresented at the nation's top colleges and universities than they were 35 years ago. (NY Times)

4. The Western diet- low in fiber, high in refined sugars, meat and fat- is wiping out whole species of bacteria from American guts. (NY Times)

5. "Pilgrim there is no path. The path is made by walking." (David Whyte, "We are Pilgrims")

6. "There is always a wild card, and what I had were books. What I had, most of all, was the language that books allowed. A way to talk about complexity. A way to 'keep the heart awake to love and beauty.'(Coleridge). (Jeanette Winterson, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?)

7. The honey bee travels thousands of miles in search of nectar yet produces 1 teaspoon of honey in their lifetime.

8. Best fuel for long runs (10 miles or more) - a sweet snack of 30 to 40 calories every two miles. A few gummy bears washed down with water works well. (Jeff Galloway, "Double Digits? Sweet!")

Have a happy week. May what you learn inspire you.

Lessons That Linger

Emily, my friend from Italy, emailed me the other day. It got me thinking about the life lessons I learned in six years there that carry over to my life in Florida:

Join a women's group. Emily introduced me to her women's group and they helped smooth my way into life in Italy. I did the same when I moved here- met a friend who brought me to her women's group. They are, in fact, my neighbors and now my friends. It's a great way to become part of a new area.

Eat local food. Every Wednesday our town, Cittá Sant'Angelo, had an open market that sold fresh fruits and vegetables. It drove our menu and made me realize that local food tastes better, costs less and is better for us, the farmers and the planet. My area of Jacksonville has a market on Saturday, Riverside Arts Market, that also offers local, fresh food, home-made goodies, plants, flowers, art and crafts. As a bonus, I discovered a vendor who imports my favorite olives from Italy. Score!

Grow herbs in the yard and flowers that attract bees and butterflies. My yard here is bigger than my small balcony in Italy so more herbs and flowers add to my great pleasure and the bees and butterflies' delight.

Cherish art and support the museums that expose me to it. Italy really woke me up to this imperative. Though I have less exposure here, the local museum, the Cummer Museum, has a wide-ranging collection and brings in new exhibitions. Their gardens located on the St. John's river include an Italian garden that I treasure.

Exercise regularly. I continue to run three times a week but now have a running group to join with on the weekend. This brings me a whole new level of fun and camaraderie. I've also joined the local Y for further workouts. All together it keeps me healthy and happy.

Drink good wine and only use good olive oil. An important Italian legacy well maintained.

Good neighbors, both in Italy and here, are gifts of grace. Let them know it.

Practice gratitude. Say it out loud. Today I'm grateful for rain on my garden after a stretch of days in the 90s. I'm grateful for a dozen key limes ripening on the tree I planted after my father died last year. I'm grateful that I love my life.

How about you, what lessons endure for you?

People of Goodwill Unite

"Courage will now be your best defense against the storm that is at hand." (J.R.R. Tolkien)

The sky is dark, thunder sounds in the distance and the air smells of the rain about to come. It rains almost every day lately and my plants are grateful since the temperatures remain in the 90's.  The side yard is an explosion of flowers, herbs and greenery as a result. I love caring for them all.

Meanwhile on the messier world stage the specter of racism once again rears its ugly head. But in the midst of the important national debate ignited I look at it from an individual point of view. What can I do in my personal life to come into more alignment with my values of diversity and equality?

Carl, my son-in-law, is Trinidadian and lives in Trinidad with my daughter and the grands. For the first time in the 17 years that he's been part of our family traveling back and forth to the USA, Carl is afraid to come here. As a black man he doesn't feel safe given our Country's current climate. The fact that he could be judged by the color of his skin rather than his sweet, smart, amazing self breaks my heart and makes me mad- as if any of those racist yo-yos could hold a candle to Carl! Makes me realize all we're missing as a society since we're missing people of color right here as well.

My beautiful family:

My girlfriend, Jasa, reminded me the other day to join with people of goodwill "to speak up, speak out and tell the truth about America and listen to each other to find common ground." She's wise. She believes everyone wants to thrive. Me too. Certainly we want our families to flourish as well.

Here's what I'm doing to learn more- I live in a diverse area and I'm getting braver talking to my neighbors about their experiences, I join groups with diversity and make friends with people of goodwill. FB is exploding with info right now so I read articles and stories from people of color to better understand the realities of racism. I believe those stories. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander is a stunning, change-your-worldview, wake up kind of book to start with.

But be prepared to fail. I volunteer at our local food pantry and started a conversation with a man with whom I work about his experience here in Florida after the violence in Charlottesville. It didn't go anywhere for any one of a dozen reasons leaving me to get over myself and my own particular goals and find more graceful ways to be a friend.

Jasa also said that "as we re-build ourselves heart by heart, what benefits one should benefit all. If any one of us is left behind then we are all left behind. "  That can't happen when our children and grandchildren's lives are at stake. So we're in this together. Let's do this.

Grandmother, Elder and Protector in Search of Allies

Northern Florida reached the 90's today, hot and steamy. It stormed last night with wind and rain strong enough to shake down the (apparently dead) top of our 70 foot water oak tree. The debris spreads haphazardly on the bricks and newly installed grass in our yard. Other than that I realized our yard is finished so our home is finally "done" inside and out. My mind is free for new ventures.

I plan to restart my blog after a two year hiatus, during which I moved from Italy to Florida and bought and refurbished a home, but not under its old name, Journey Into Elderhood (https://journeyintoelderhood.blogspot.com). My 60's were spent finding my particular way into elder hood but, after those early years of old age, I'm now securely an elder.

In thinking about a favorite TV show today, Game of Thrones with Kaleesi, the mother of dragons, in popped 'grandmother of dragons' as a title for this decade's journal of my continuing journey. Because sometimes life demands fierceness. In these middle years of old age (my 70's) I'll show up, pay attention, tell the truth and write about what that teaches me.

I play the game DragonVale (an Apple app) and have since it started. Five years later I still enjoy it immensely. With over 370 dragons in 100 habitats on 26 islands, I'm literally the keeper of dragons. And as grandmother to my two grands, aunt to eleven nieces and nephews and great aunt to eight great nieces and nephews, I claim the role of elder and protector of the realm not just in my family but also in my community which is in need of wise women elders and fierce protectors.

Surely the events of this last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia prove the need for those of us who cherish diversity to stand and demand the inclusion of all races, religions, sexes and sexual persuasions in our lives, neighborhoods and body politic. Inclusion with full equality. That is the world I want to live in. That is the world I want to leave to my grandchildren and their grandchildren. I am part of that solution. I'm in search of allies.