Good morning ,

Today, I'm feeling a little discombobulated :(

3 weeks after Hurricane Beryl and we're still not back to full power or basic utility services. In the beginning, it was ok, a nice break from the regular pressures of life. Now, I'm becoming impatient. As one person said to me, "I just can't ketch a break!"

So now that we've worn all our clean clothes, have nothing ironed, no electricity therefore also no water how do we go to work to earn the little money to take care of ourselves and our family?

So, , I'm digging deep. Deep within myself to remain calm, to smile. I am learning to smile at our resilience. Our willingness to grit our teeth and slough through.

Even as I am struggling to cope, I am remaining open and hopeful. So I had promised to be more intentional and share more about my work but..... I will tell you that Hurricane Beryl has brought the memory or reality of living in trauma and being constantly on edge centre stage and forward. I've shared a short video clip of current realities just below this message.

This is the time that we go back to basics - heating the iron on the stove, washing clothes by hand, leaning on other community members, and learning to laugh in the face of the absurdity of it all.

And taking one step at a time, just one step so that we are not overwhelmed as we move forward.

And here's the thing, the only people who truly know and understand what we're going through are those of us in the midst of the suffering. The rest of the island is fine and going on their merry way not understanding why we can't just get our act together and show up. Sound familiar?

Here's a video of what some of us are going through. The tarp couldn't withstand the pressure of the current rainfall. We can't control the rain, we can only control our mindset.

, after you watch the video, tell me how you would cope in these 'Not Normal' circumstances.

https://youtube.com/shorts/PDgLEWpCN0Y

From a wet, cold and trying to smile

Dr H