The Kindness of Others

I woke up this morning and, for the first time in five days, did not have to fill the toilet tank to flush! Nor did I have to make lunches by flashlight or hustle my kids out of bed to shower next door or boil water to wash dishes. What a huge relief! Along with that feeling of relief came an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Yes, we muddled through the challenge, but we did not do it alone. This is one of those wonderful moments when the good things in life get to come shining through.

During these dark days — literally! — I’ve gotten to know my neighbors better and spent more time talking to people face-to-face than I’ve done in months. The story is repeated over and over, how our neighbors with power opened up their lives to help those of us who were without. 

In our neighborhood, the steady hum of generators grew in volume day by day.  That is because people were able to borrow them from each other. Those little motors made life bearable. Friends made room in their freezers so food didn’t go bad. They invited whole families over for showers and laundry. They took in each others’ children. And they did this because that is what good neighbors do. It would seem that Brookfield has an abundance of good neighbors!

There is camaraderie in adversity. As the dust settled after Irene, we wandered our neighborhood and shared storm stories. We also helped each other clean yards, move trees, and pick up the pieces. We connected with our friends in other parts of town who were likewise without power.

In the immediate aftermath, we were upbeat and prepared to “rough it” for a few days. But as the date for power restoration moved further into the future and nerves began to fray, the real strength of community kicked in. As power was restored to parts of town, the generators began their steady migration to those who were still without. Our friends were on the phone with offers to help minutes after their own power was restored. People I barely know called to ask what they could do. Whole communication chains evolved to make sure everyone stayed in the loop, no matter how cut off we might be from the normal channels. No one had to take charge and direct this effort. It happened organically because people cared. That is what I want to remember most when I think of this time period.

It is very easy when we are in crisis mode to lose sight of the bigger picture, while slogging through the details that bog us down. When the crisis is over, we get on with our busy lives and forget to recognize the things that made it possible to manage. So before I forget, I want to express my gratitude to the guy who loaned us his generator, the family who opened their home so we could shower, the couple who kept Meals On Wheels functioning, the family who sat through terrible movies with us and baked us cookies (NEVER underestimate the power of a homemade cookie!), and the many, many friends who helped keep me sane by patiently answering my endless texts. I know that none of them helped us because they want praise or credit. They did it because that is the kind of people they are 24/7. Good people. People I am very fortunate to know.

I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge our local institutions that played a big role in getting us through this ordeal. Our local YMCA was so generous to open their doors during their annual shut-down week so that people could be clean, our library gave us a place to work on computers, our town leaders worked the phones to get us relief as quickly as possible, and our town workers have been out every day clearing streets and making sure we are safe. And though the decision makers at CL&P certainly deserve our scorn, the staff and crews in the trenches deserve our thanks for the long hours worked to get us back online, even though many of them were going home to dark houses.

This has been a long haul for our town this week. But while we rightly express our frustration and anger at the lack of responsiveness, we should also take pride in the way we supported each other as a community. This has been one more reminder of why we choose to live here. Thank you to everyone who helps make this a great place to call home.