The past 12 months have been a challenge. Harvey, Maria, political division and -- closer to home -- two tragedies for Marengo, Ill.: a community-changing traffic accident on December 15, and an explosion on June 11. Our community rose to assist with unbridled compassion both times.
Having lived it, I feel being a victim and a refugee is an experience we all need to have. The things that are important are laid bare. Life becomes basic: the clothes that can fit in a suitcase, coffee with a neighbor, kind words from your family, friends, and community reveal that which has true value.
My family and I have lived it and learned that we can be just fine with support, and a minimum of things. What the headlines and sound bites ignore is that recovery is a process. It is slow. It is steady, and it is not glamorous. It can take days ... months ... years. Only one thing is certain: Life will never be the same again.
The promise is that a new normal will emerge. It has every opportunity to be an improved normal. Wounds and grief are deep; without them life is incomplete. Embrace the change in your life as it occurs, both the glorious and the tragic.
At the end of this day, the change that occurred is the point. Our lives will be a new experience tomorrow; anything less is a disappointment.
I’m Ross Hadlock, and this is my perspective.