Weeks after Harvey though, I don't feel like posting "Unlearning" anymore. There was one, clear as day moment during Harvey when I realized that somehow my internal descriptions of Texas and of Houston had graduated from they to we. One awful week did what two years of residency had not- it developed a sense of belonging and of ownership in me. Weeks later I am still both regretting that I didn't leave and somehow glad that I stayed. The whole thing would have been less stressful, less traumatic (a word I use cautiously but honestly), if I had left. It was, however, also an experience that can't really, fully be described. You can tell people about it, you can talk about it, but you can't convey a true understanding. I experienced the storm with good friends and that shared experience is one I am not sorry to have. I would even say I'm glad to have it.
As things slowly get back to normal, I have to wonder how long it will take to reach "pre-Harvey normal." Cars for sale in the area now proudly display "flood free" stickers on their windshields where the price tag usually goes. Nearly every open business and what feels like half the billboards in the city have signs that read "Houston Strong" or "Texas Strong." Two months ago, I would have rolled my eyes at all this but I can't anymore. I think of the Herculean effort that is pouring out all over the city and I can feel nothing but proud. I picked up a shipment of food today for the food pantry that I work with and not only was it far larger than normal (because we have far more need than normal) but it was also far more varied than normal. I asked about where the supplies we can't usually get through the food bank came from and was told that they came from Louisiana and from Dallas. I looked around the warehouse and picked out all the pallets of supplies that we don't usually have and immediately teared up. The whole way back to our pantry I thought of all the strangers far away that I am thankful for right now. I can't thank them personally but I am deeply grateful to them none-the-less.
At our Society of St. Vincent de Paul meeting last night (a Catholic outreach organization that I've been part of since 2008), much of our discussion focused on the long-haul Harvey recovery. There has been such an incredible outpouring of generosity for Houston but we know that the highly visible, immediate needs of the city and its residents will begin to dwindle. We've already started to plan for Thanksgiving and for Christmas and for all of the time in between. This kind of need frequently feels overwhelming and even as I consider individual friends who have lost so much I often feel frozen wondering what I can possibly do. The answer is pretty simple though; I can keep doing exactly what I have already been doing. Mother Teresa instructed the world to "do small things with great love" and that statement has rarely felt more true to me than it does right now. We cannot undo the damage that has been done and we cannot fix everything that needs to be fixed but we can keep providing food and financial help and, most importantly, care and compassion. Natural disasters like those we've seen this hurricane season are undeniably horrible and tragic but as I look at the outpouring of support we are receiving to help our friends and neighbors recover it seems that these disasters also bring out much of the good in people.
