Today turned out to be a bit of a chaotic day emotionally for me. I feel guilty about it in the face of the chaos that is Haiti tonight. I will probably atone for it by making a donation to
Operation Helping Hands
c/o United Way of Miami-Dade
P.O. Box # 459007
Miami, FL 33245-9007
(305) 646-7129
http://www.unitedwaymiami.org/iwant2help_contribute.asp
THANK YOU FOR CARING!
(I stole that from a Facebook acquaintance who happens to be from Haiti)
Anyway, back to my own little corner of pain and suffering. I put my back out. Then I came home and my house was in a state of chaos. The almost-2 year old was hyperactive and testing limits. The dog (two and half years old) was behaving just as poorly. My husband was yelling at the dog. My daughter was patiently trying to tone down her son. My back was hurting which puts me into a non-communicative cocoon of pain.
My husband made dinner and cleaned the kitchen. That does not endear anyone to him, even the one who hurts too much to bend over right now. He was in a bad mood because he had to yell at the dog so much (the dog has been so good, I guess he just had to get it out of his system tonight).
The dog and the boy were both miscreants.
My daughter retreated upstairs with her children to give us old folks breathing room. I came and hid in the bedroom where I can put ice and heat onto my back alternately and be in pain without having to talk to anyone. My husband is sitting out in the living room feeling piqued at everyone and the dog.
It’s just in the air today.
And I feel guilty for feeling miserable because I looked at the photos on CNN. I knew better, but… Babies.
It is time to bring myself out of my own little pity party and corner of pain and think about what I can do to help the people of Haiti. Because they need us right now and they need to know we have their back. Somehow squabbling over who does what in the scheme of household chores seems pretty insignificant in the face of the earthquake.
My back will get better – that much is a fact. But for so many in Haiti, getting better is scarcely a goal when all you want to do is go back to the day before yesterday when everything was still whole.
Sure puts your own life into perspective, doesn’t it?
Jaci Dawn 
So sorry, back pain is so awful and yes, it makes us very cranky. I feel the same way about Haiti. Just breaking my heart to see all those kids. They already had so many orphans, now they have a lot more.
I keep thinking I may try to find an organization down there that would take me and try to go for a few weeks this summer to do SOMETHING.