My mom’s house is in a flood zone, and this year, we have had a tremendous amount of rain. On New Year’s Eve, I received a call that her street had waist high water flowing through it, but fortunately, her house is up a sloped driveway and didn’t flood. Needless to say, it was a very stressful New Year’s Eve, and I have had to evacuate her twice since due to mandatory flood evacuations.
Another storm is slated to hit tomorrow. A friend saw the news and thought of us and suggested she could pick up sandbags and bring them to my mom (the city had collected the ones I had filled myself from the prior storms several weeks ago).
It was such a relief to not have to coordinate and do this task myself. And while I am still anxious about the flooding and whether I will need to evacuate mom, it was a relief not to add hefting and filling sandbags to a busy workweek.
One thing I have realized is I respond best to direct clear offers for help. A lot of people offer support or help in a vague way, and I tend to say no unless an immediate task is apparent – I feel bad asking! But when someone, like my friend Kinsey just did, just sort of tells me they are going to do something, it is a HUGE relief and an easy yes. I should tell my friends this more when they offer to help. I often don’t have the bandwidth to ask or coordinate in this crazy chapter of my life, but I will definitely accept any help offered.
Sandwiched 