Boots on the Ground: A Photo Story

Last night, it was hard to sleep thinking about the people effected by the tornado in Missouri this weekend. If it was hard for me to sleep, I can only imagine the night Sissy-to-be  and the rest of her family had. Apparently, I wasn't the only one thinking about the Jo-mOsters last night. I called my momala(who else do you call when you're upset about something?)  and she answered right away. I knew she had been up, too, because her usual "I-just-woke-up" voice was replaced with that harrowed tone she used when she'd been up waiting for me to check in from a late night out. Betty told me that quite a few of our relatives called throughout the day to ask about Kacie and her family. As much as all of their thoughts and concerns are appreciated, the call that loosened the knot in my chest and put the important things into perspective was from my Aunt Barbara in Arizona. 

She said:

"Tell Kacie that I'm not returning my plane ticket for Missouri in July. If the tornado postpones Kacie and Brian's wedding, I'm going down to Joplin, anyway. I'll just bring my boots and help clean up."

Before my late-night Betty-call, I went to the gym to work off a little steam. I watched CNN while I did my cardio, but I had the sound off. I was mostly interested in the ticker on the bottom of the screen with information about the storm. One of the messages that caught my eye said, "Boots On The Ground: FEMA Arrives in Joplin, MO."

I'm not the kind of person who feels comfortable asking for..well..anything, especially  help and most of all donations. In my opinion, this is a special and necessary circumstance when a little help will go a long way. Please, visit the Heart of Missouri United Way and make a donation to assist relief efforts following the tornadoes in Joplin. It's going to take a lot more than a couple pairs of boots to bring aide and support to the people who need it the most in Missouri.

By the way, not only will I be bringing my boots to help out come July, I'll be wearing my Donkeypants, too.
-L