Two Hands

Tonight there are parents all around the United States with children trapped in Haiti. Tonight there are parents sitting at their kitchen tables thinking about the child they have worked months and years to adopt and bring into their home. These parents could be kneeling by their bed right now, hands clasped, praying for the safety and strength of their little one. Tonight these parents might be clutching a picture of Johanna or Emmanuel. They will likely be remembering the last time they were in Haiti when they promised that little boy or little girl that Mommy and Daddy would return for them. I'm a mother myself. I know their worry must be unbearable. With any luck...and a lot of work on the part of people much more powerful than me...I will be traveling to help bring Haitian children home to the US to be with their adoptive families.

My official capacity for the trip will be as a trauma therapist caring for children until they can be reunited with their parents. But in my heart, I know what I will really be doing. I know that I will tap into my "Mommy" degree more so than my masters degree. And that is just fine by me. Wipe a face, comfort a little one in sickness, play a game, sing a song, bandage a hurt. Listen to a story. Allow a frightened one listen to the steady breath in my chest so she can too feel calm and safe. And in that, my degree and training as a therapist doesn't matter. My two hands matter. Keeping my heart open matters. Hope in the face of hopelessness matters. 

In the last week while this horror has been unfolding, I have been amazed by the power of action and activism. I have said before in this blog that I define activism by a willingness to DO and LEARN at the same time. Don't wait; stop simply "being aware" as my friends the Ponds say. There will be mistakes, mis-communication, frustration and false starts...but we learn and we do better

Therefore, my bag is packed and I am ready.  

CALL TO ACTION: Please contact President Obama at www.whitehouse.gov or 202-456-1111 (9-5 EST), asking him to sign an Executive Order to 1) establish a safe haven in Haiti for children in Haitian orphanages, and 2) allow the use of military personnel and assets to provide the security of children's travel anywhere but PAP airport to the US.