First day back at work today. At least it made for a short work-week.
I left really early to get a latte before our 7am meeting. I was gearing up to take the opportunity to stand in front of our whole department and tell them about my experience in Haiti and what's going on now. Figured it would be better to do that, that way everybody would know at once and I wouldn't have to repeat myself all day.
When they called me up, everybody started to clap. I just stood there, my back to the crowd, and then started sobbing. The director of the department gently asked if I wanted to try again later on and I said yes. I walked back and gathered myself as best I could. Then, later, I gave it another shot and was able to get the message out, breaking down a couple times.
The response was overwhelming. People want to help. And they are so encouraging. Co-workers gave me hugs and told me to remember that what I did was helpful, not useless. I'm here for a reason. I'm so grateful to work with such caring people.
Later in the day, Julie and I had a hilarious conversation. We wanted to get a movie to watch tonight, so I was looking at RedBox and settled on either "Paper Heart" or "Extract." When I called her on my break she mentioned getting a movie for the kids and when I asked her if she got something for us she said, "Yeah. I got one called...Paper Heart." "SHUT UP," I yelled. "Seriously, that's the one I wrote down! That and Extract." Then it was her turn. "LIAR!" she yelled back. "I stood in front of Extract for 10 minutes HOLDING Paper Heart!" We laughed for like five minutes.
It felt so good to laugh together. To smile, genuinely.
I'm still exhausted, mentally, and crying at the drop of a hat, but I can sense things getting back to normal. Somewhat. I think that's good.
**Also, if you're interested in donating to help rebuild the orphanage we worked with, please visit www.thejourneycommunity.com and click on "Haiti Relief." We setup a PayPal account so you can give online now! Thanks!**
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