We are rich.

I haven't posted about Galveston. I haven't posted about Ike. Like you, we too sat & watched in horror. I was actually up @ 2:00 a.m. faithfully watching FOX news when Ike hit. It's unbelievable what Mother Nature is capable of. Her power. Her destruction. Her devastation left behind. I see the photos & videos & it's hard to believe we were just there a month ago. We vacation there frequently & it's most definitely one of our favorite places, not to mention close to home. I love Galveston. I always have. I always will.
Every day @ 12:00 I watch the news while I feed lunch. They typically have updates on Galveston & surrounding areas. Today I sat frozen while they interviewed a mother & her teenage mentally challenged son. Today I cried in front of my children.

They stayed behind. They didn't evacuate. On one hand it makes me so angry & I just want to shout at the tv "LEAVE!" On the other hand, I could see the love in her eyes. They live in a government housing apartment. It is her home. She just kept repeating "but it's home". My heart broke.

The water rose to chest level in their apartment. Daily they are walking 6 miles to the Community Center to receive ice & a little food. She pulls a grocery basket. Her son rode his bike, but his tire blew out so he abandoned it on the side of the road. Today they received enough food to last for today & 1/2 day tomorrow. So tomorrow they again walk the 6 miles to get more. Her health is not good. She carries a small inhaler in her pocket as they walk to & fro. They have no water. No electricity. No air. No anything. Just each other. ABC's reporter kept telling her "but you can't stay here". She replied "but it's my home". They offered her assistance. She said they'd "be ok".

I wish I could go get her & her son & bring them home. To our home. I would. We could do it. We could take them in. We could help them. But of course I couldn't get to her & she wouldn't come anyway. And that makes me even more sad.

It's a good thing we are not wealthy. Monetarily speaking. I would give probably 75% of our riches away. To those who need help. To those that are hurting. To those who have lost everything due to situations such as Ike. And Katrina. And the list goes on.

But we are rich. So are you. We have homes. We have electricity & the necesseties we need to live. It doesn't take a lot of money to be rich. If we have what we need to live, we are rich. We are so, so rich.

My dad has been in jail now for 3 weeks. I have tried so hard to 'handle' it. But I don't know how much longer I can. He's 68 years old. His health is bad. He can't walk well due to back issues. And he's in a place with 4,000 other criminals. The thought of someone hurting him is more than I can stand to think about.

I think my emotions are running high. When I watched the news today it all came to a head. I feel defeated. And right now I may be defeated, but I am oh so blessed. And I will not lose sight of that.