When I left home this morning it was 84 degrees – inside. I have central A/C that has been on the fritz for two weeks. As any of my Facebook friends could tell you, this has been the source of several desperate pleas for sympathy as my status updates range from frustration to sheer joy at the sight of the A/C man:
The air is thick with humidity and I can visualize hard earned money flying out the window for what it will take to rectify the situation.
Despite several offers of a cool, dry place to crash, I am hesitant. I have a pet that is highly adverse to change. Not to blame it all on Sophie, but she’s quite a handful and I’m not sure I want to subject my friends to her idiosyncrasies. And I don’t totally feel comfortable leaving her at home to fend for herself. So for now, I’m choosing to stick it out.
A recent news report put my current lack of A/C in complete perspective. I was seated on my couch, my fan on high and two feet away from my face, when the Today show aired a 6 month update on Haiti. Since the story had been the headlines for such a long time, I had started to tune out reports. This time, I listened.
In one segment, the images showed a Red Cross supported camp in which several of the shelters have been built using the debris from destroyed buildings of a neighborhood that once stood nearby. In a country where the average daily high temperature for most months exceeds 90F, Haitians are living in an unimaginable reality. Inside tents and makeshift shelters, the heat is sweltering. And unlike my situation, there isn’t relief just an arm’s reach or phone call away.
The same report included the startling fact that of all the monies promised by governments in the days after the disaster, to date only 10% has come through. People on the ground in Haiti must now attempt to respond with only a small portion of the expected funding. It’s tough – life continues and new tragedies arise that draw attention away and require their own support. The situation with the BP Oil Disaster immediately comes to mind. But I’ve always heard that no matter how it may seem, there are always people in much more difficult situations. So while I don’t revel in the reality that I will be going home to a very warm and humid home this evening, I am also seeing it in perspective. At the end of the day, I’m so very lucky and this situation is a temporary reality. And since I haven’t made a donation this month, this time I’ll send it to Hope for Haiti’s Children’s Center in the hopes it can do a little bit of good.
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Haiti still needs so much work. The country was devastated and I’m glad you’re reminding everyone that we need to keep things in perspective!