PSA because I love you all.
As your friend I'm asking you to check your smoke detector batteries and for the love of all that is holy, if you smell smoke in your house please do not try to put a fire out on your own. Your local fire department is trained to do that, call them and get out of the house. It sounds so elementary and yet it bears repeating because people don't often remember the simple things in an emergency. Nothing in your house is worth taking a chance with your life for. Nothing.
Also, remember to thank your local fire department members for all that they do. Usually their contributions to towns are overlooked, but they do a lot more than riding around in big trucks and putting out fires and the emotional trauma of the things that they see and do is immeasurable yet is often overlooked. Yesterday was a cold reminder of that for this town and it's sad that it had to happen the way that it did, but I do love the way this town bands together during a tragedy.
Godspeed Mr. & Mrs. B, it's only fitting that you walk through the gates of Heaven the way you walked through your life together: hand-in-hand.
On a selfish note: Their son Stewart is an amazing person. Despite the fact that he was dealing with such an unimaginable loss, he made a point to seek out my dad today to thank him for all that the department did to try and save his parents. My father was struggling with that issue as he's the first chief on the Island to lose someone in a fire in over 25 years. There was honestly nothing that could be done for either of them by the time the neighbor called the fire department, but he felt guilty because the Branch family is incredibly special to our family. To have Stewart show up and hug him and talk with him was like an absolution of sorts and took a weight off of his shoulders. He was in a much better place tonight than he was for the 2 hours he got to be home last night. He might actually sleep tonight which would be a nice thing.
Dear Month Of May - despite being the month my beloved mom was born in, you seem to have brought trauma with you every.single.year for as long as I can remember. You aren't my favorite month and I won't be sad to see you go. ~H
Also, remember to thank your local fire department members for all that they do. Usually their contributions to towns are overlooked, but they do a lot more than riding around in big trucks and putting out fires and the emotional trauma of the things that they see and do is immeasurable yet is often overlooked. Yesterday was a cold reminder of that for this town and it's sad that it had to happen the way that it did, but I do love the way this town bands together during a tragedy.
Godspeed Mr. & Mrs. B, it's only fitting that you walk through the gates of Heaven the way you walked through your life together: hand-in-hand.
On a selfish note: Their son Stewart is an amazing person. Despite the fact that he was dealing with such an unimaginable loss, he made a point to seek out my dad today to thank him for all that the department did to try and save his parents. My father was struggling with that issue as he's the first chief on the Island to lose someone in a fire in over 25 years. There was honestly nothing that could be done for either of them by the time the neighbor called the fire department, but he felt guilty because the Branch family is incredibly special to our family. To have Stewart show up and hug him and talk with him was like an absolution of sorts and took a weight off of his shoulders. He was in a much better place tonight than he was for the 2 hours he got to be home last night. He might actually sleep tonight which would be a nice thing.
Dear Month Of May - despite being the month my beloved mom was born in, you seem to have brought trauma with you every.single.year for as long as I can remember. You aren't my favorite month and I won't be sad to see you go. ~H