
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” ~ Mr. Fred Rogers
In a crisis situation there are the first responders, the people who come in to help us triage and set the wheels in motion. They listen and use their knowledge and expertise to assess who needs to be called, what needs to happen first and what possibly can wait.
They are vital as one’s brain can almost feel frozen because it has gone into overwhelm and we literally have to be guided and shown. I remember after my brother shed his earth suit my mom and I were on a flight from Florida to Utah. There were technical difficulties with the air craft and we had to land en route. This was before cell phones and I recall literally sitting my mother down in a chair, telling her not to move and that I would find the nearest phone first to make the necessary calls. She stared glassy eyed and nodded her head in understanding of what I had said. Her mind had absorbed all it could with the tragic loss of her son just days before and the last thing she could do was navigate an unknown airport. In that moment I was a first responder because I could be.
The long haul truckers are the ones who might come in early on in a crisis or they may wait in the background. Stepping in when the first responders need to return to their lives and perhaps become available for someone else in need in those first hours and days.
These amazing helpers are each such a gift and they often create an invisible flow of assistance that is so deeply needed. Maybe they are the ones who help you cry even when you feel as if every tear has been shed. Checking in when they feel a nudge to do so and asking you how your heart is feeling on any given day or when a tender one is fast approaching. You look outside and your garbage can has been put out on the curb, your lawn has been mowed, there is a meal that is delivered.
I will never forget my first responders nor my long haul truckers. Both equally vital, necessary and so worth looking for unless they simply show up, which in that case, fling open the windows and doors and invite them in. I’m so grateful I did and I have no doubt there are countless stories of these magnificent humans and four legged creatures too who have been walking alongside us from the beginning and will continue to.

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