I am safe, and incredibly grateful to have avoided evacuation and flooding by about one block of neighborhood space. I stayed home with my beloved chinchilla and family, minimized water usage and lived without electricity and gas, and those with a situation similar to mine (minus the cute chinchilla) or who were unaffected entirely are very lucky.
So far I've been thankful to avoid having my life torn apart by the 2011 Japan Tohoku Earthquake, and a flood in the city I was living in that same summer. For a family that has been struggling with financially tough times, the fear of losing everything we've worked for, or tried to maintain, or pieced back together, hovers in the corner. Still, I do not like to think about falling off the tightrope and instead try to focus on what I can do. And on the other side of the same coin is the perpetual thankfulness for the many blessings I do have.
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| The Memorial Drive that I often pass through Photo credit: photography.ca |
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| Memorial Drive at night Photo credit: Flickr |
While I come across many friendly and courteous people in Calgary, I am also often disappointed by those that spend their day being rude, snide, inconsiderate, impatient, or downright mean. However, this time it was a relief to see Calgary come through as a team. The city government called a state of emergency and set a plan of action rolling before the general public even considered the possibility of flooding. There was no overflowing burden on emergency evacuation shelters, because friends, family, and even strangers offered up their places to stay. For someone who was on standby for mandatory evacuation, it was incredibly heartwarming and reassuring on a personal level to have friends who extended their hands to me.
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| Photo credit: imgur.com |
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| Photo credit: o.canada.com |
It was also great to see (later when I had electricity) the Facebook pages that were set up with people offering tips, help, and updates, community pages set up for location specific information, stores offering free ice or cleanup services, and redistributed positive Twitter tweets from our Mayor and local police force. I saw many individuals offering help, or even just genuine words of encouragement, and thought, "these are the people I'm glad to know," and, "these are the people I want to meet."
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| Classy Tweets from the Calgary Police Photo credit: unknown |
People will be people, but I hope this spirit of Calgary will continue to stay with us in our every day connections with each other, and that we can act as an example for the world with our open minds and kindness.
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