No Matter Where You Are From

I posted on Facebook yesterday that I have started noticing these signs around central Pennsylvania. It started with Hershey but I've since seen them in Lebanon, Harrisburg, Lititz and Lancaster. As it turns out, it all began with Lancaster (which I still pronounce as LAN-caster instead of Len-cas-TER. My cover is blown about 30 seconds after the locals meet me but they keep inviting me to stuff anyway). Lancaster has been dubbed "America's Refugee Capital" for its role in accepting and assisting more refugees per capita than any other city in the US. To date, citizens of Lancaster have welcomed over 1300 refugees into their city and their homes.

via LancasterOnline

In 2012, they created the Lancaster County Refugee Coalition, whose motto is Thriving in Lancaster, Enriching Us All. This association of over 40 community organizations support and optimize refugee resettlement in Lancaster County by "empowering the community to incorporate refugees into social services and community systems." They do this by enlisting the help of organizations like the Lancaster/Lebanon Literacy Council (and their ESL services), Franklin & Marshall College, the Ware Institute for Civic Engagement and Church World Service of Lancaster. In fact, Church World Service and Lutheran Refugee Services are the 2 agencies that resettle refugees in Lancaster County. They have 90 days, per an agreement with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, to get refugees resettled with the basic necessities (i.e. housing) but Lancaster County wanted to do more than simply get a roof over their heads and some food in their mouths. They wanted to make the resettlement process as seamless and painless as possible. During a conference of the coalition, the members realized that communication between the agencies was breaking down and there was no coordinated or streamlined process for resettlement. The coalition received two grants totaling $35,000, which funded a refugee focus group and a coalition coordinator, who works to bring new agencies on board who can contribute to one of the 4 areas of need identified (English as a second language - especially for adults in the workplace, refugee adjustment assistance, refugee youth and the community/cultural center-which is actually a Rotary Club project). The ultimate goal is to help these refugees become productive members of the community, not just dependents on the system. And they have been doing just that. In 2014, Lancaster welcomed 90 Somalis; 67 Burmese; 36 Iraqis; 32 Bhutanese; 31 Cubans; 25 Democratic Republic Congolese; 11 Ethiopians; 8 Sudanese; 2 Nepalis; 2 South Sudanese, and 1 Kenyan. 

But why is any of this surprising? Lancaster became home to the Amish and the Mennonites who were fleeing persecution long before the Iraqis arrived. And unlike many Americans, who often forget their European ancestry, these 2 religious groups remember what it was like to find a land of freedom. So, of course they would welcome them and try to ease their transition. Lancaster County is truly a melting pot of diversity. 

I will admit, when we first moved here, I made some Breaking Amish jokes. I tried to Instagram every horse and buggy we passed. I mocked the Mennonites for flocking to Hobby Lobby (What? Don't you make your own twine from horse hair or something?). But living among them (and joining the Moravian Church, whose motto is "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love"), I began to appreciate their unconditional love for their fellow humans. Not just other Mennonites. Not just other Amish. Not just other Moravians. All humans. Equally. In all things, love. They are doing God's work. They are living like Jesus. Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me. 

Refugees are, by their very definition, fleeing some unspeakable horror. They never wanted to leave their homeland. They never wanted to uproot their lives and move thousands of miles away, to a country that would tolerate them, at best, or falsely accuse and execute them at worst. I have a friend who lives in Pakistan. One day, on messenger, I asked her why she didn't just leave? Why not move to the U.K., where she had studied? And she simply said, "Because Pakistan is my home. I cannot leave." And, knowing about the political climate of Pakistan, I believe that says a lot. She posts pictures of her friends at the beach on holiday and at family celebrations and you would never know that her country is falling apart. But it is her home and it would take something unspeakable to make her leave. The only thing we should do is welcome them, hug them and help them find a home here, however temporary or permanent it may be.

I have, as I am wont to do, thrown myself into the activities of our new church. I spent last Saturday morning with other Moravians, hand-dipping pretzels that were sold to benefit the church's mission work in Jamaica. And I am on the nature garden committee. And we will be participating in the Little Lambs ministry, a program created to give children an opportunity to serve their community. This month, we will be collecting and delivering donations of breakfast food items to the Water Street Mission, which provides assistance for the homeless, as well as health screens and immunizations to refugees. 

But first...a sign. For our yard. For our neighbors. For anyone who happens to wander by. No matter where you are from, we are glad you're our neighbor. These signs are being sold by, wonder of all wonders, the Community Mennonite Church in Lancaster. But if you would like your own and you live far, the Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia created a PDF that can be sent to your local sign maker (or shirt maker, or billboard maker). You can find that free PDF file here. While the signs springing up in this area are predominantly Arabic/English/Spanish, the link above will also give you language options for French, Somali, Armenian, Hindi, German, Japanese and Chinese. 

In all things...love. 

2017: The Year of Better

As I write this, all three of us are sick. It started with a stomach virus before the winter break that began and ended with Blue and then a vicious head cold, bordering on sinus infection, that started with Neal around Thanksgiving. He finally went to the doctor and came home with a nasal saline spray, ear drops and orders to consume a teaspoon of honey three times per day. So, although I know that if I went to my own civilian doctor, she would probably drop an antibiotic on me faster than I can say Z-Pack, I also now know that there are doctors in this world who believe we can kick this with some saline and a spoonful of bee juice. And so that is what we are doing. Or trying to do. And every day is just a little bit better.

This renewed determination to fight illness with something other than a prescription is partially due to an NPR story we heard coming back from Kentucky after Christmas. There is some concern that because we are in such a hurry to get better when we are sick, we are taking antibiotics at an alarming rate and, someday, that is going to create a whole new problem: superbugs that are impervious to anything we have on the shelves right now. I would prefer not to be a Superbug statistic. It has taken a week + to kick this and that seems like a lifetime to be sick, especially when the little person in the house is sick, too. And if we (especially Blue) weren't improving each day, I would have gone to the doctor a long time ago. So, please don't send me hate mail addressed to Dear Crunchy Mama Who Is Killing Her Child With Snot and Honey...

But as we dragged ourselves to bed at 12:01 last night (and, admittedly, I had to beg Neal to not go to bed at 11:53), I vowed to make 2017 the Year of Better...better health, better living, better eating, better sleeping, better choices. I would be a liar, liar, pants on fire if I said none of these changes stemmed from the election. They do. In hindsight, I feel like I could have done a lot of things differently between June and November. And what's the point of retrospection if you aren't going to apply it to the future? This will require me to read more, research more, listen to opinions that I will certainly find disagreeable. I will have to be more open-minded, consider others' experiences and perspectives in a more engaging way and just try to be a better person.

However, as we have been sick for almost a month, trying to be a better person can't be my only improvement in 2017. Starting today, the focus of this blog for the coming year will be learning to live a healthier, less chemical-laden, more holistic life. Aside from my 400 Wakeups blog I wrote while Neal was deployed, I've never had a defined purpose for my blog. It has kind of just been the thoughts and ramblings of my daily (or, ahem, monthly, every 6 months...whatever) life. And while that worked for awhile, there are some things I can't write about (our Commander-in-Chief, AKA Neal's boss, for example), things I won't write about (Blue's bathroom-related escapades and Mommy judging/shaming) and things that are just not that interesting (now my hair is long enough to highlight). The result has been the noticeable lack of posts, followed by the sound of crickets. And, really, in this age that's OK because what is the world with one less blogger? But I don't write for you, I write for me...so my head doesn't explode, so I don't start imagining parallel universes where Neal has a complete family in Baghdad that he gets to see during deployments (I probably should have gone on Paxil a long time ago). I need to write and it's just a sunshine-and-rainbows bonus that y'all read and comment and follow along. So, this is where we're going...

We need less chemicals, less processed food, more sleep and less sugar. Items of convenience are disrupting our sleep patterns and our hormones. Industrial strength cleaners are toxic to all of us, especially the smallest in our family. We need to throw it all out and start over. Over the next year, I'm making a commitment to dramatically reduce the amount of chemicals we clean with, put on our bodies and in our mouths and, in general, come into contact with daily. I am also implementing a Whole 30-ish weekly menu with limited eating out and no fast food. And we will be weening ourselves from the sugar (because I went cold turkey last spring and not only did I go back to eating sugar, but Blue watched an unprecedented amount of Netflix while I sprawled on the couch for 2 days, detoxing).

On the whole, we do better than a lot of families. I cook 5-6 times a week and we always have fruit and healthy snacks on hand, but sometimes my menu includes 3 meals of pasta, enough dairy to drown a cow and pre-packaged ingredients. I only drink 1-2 cups of coffee per day but my teaspoon of flavored creamer sometimes turns into a heaping tablespoon, which then becomes "would you like some coffee with your creamer?" (I'm looking at you, peppermint mocha.) I only eat dessert after meals, but I try to eat 5-6 meals a day. Yes, I've been known to eat dessert after breakfast. I get 7 hours of sleep per night, but really I function best at 8. And I could get 8 if I would just get the hell off Pinterest. I use white vinegar with orange peels for wiping counters and spot-cleaning, but reach for harsh, toxic cleaners to scrub toilets, floors and showers. I need to stop buying dryer sheets at Costco. I need to stop buying them at all. And I only take medicine when I need it but lately it's been a steady diet of Mucinex, Vicks, Aleve and my rescue inhaler.

So, this is my game plan for our family and our house for 2017: 

• Write a Whole 30 menu for each week and limit processed foods to snacks, like pretzels, flavored Greek yogurt, string cheese and graham crackers. I resolve to make my own waffle/pancake mix, taco seasoning and salad dressings.
• Buy organic as much as possible. (Yes, I completely buy into the health benefits of eating organic food and have since we used Door to Door Organics in Kansas.) 
• Purchase meat from our local Mennonite meat market, which comes from local farms and is fresh everyday. 
• Eliminate the toxic cleaners from the house. I love my Swiffer jet but for starters, I'm not entirely sure it's getting the floors clean. When I look at the bottom of the mop, it's alarming how much dirt and grime I'm redistributing all over the floor. Secondly, if I worry about the cat walking across a wet floor, it shouldn't be because of the cleanser she may lick off her paws later. I also read some horrifying statistics about dryer sheets over the weekend. My goal is to replace every cleaner I use with a safer, homemade version.
• Blue and I are going to aim for 30 minutes of outside time everyday, even in the dead of Pennsylvania winter. Did you see that video about the Danish children who play in the water everyday, even in the winter? They splash in their bathing suits and then come in to warm up with some tea and a few minutes in the sauna, or something. That's never going to be us. But the fresh, cold air has to at least knock some of the indoor germs off for a little bit. And if we end up going to Alaska next, we'll be at least a tiny bit acclimated. 
• Lastly, but certainly not least, we are becoming a Young Living essential oils household. My starter kit and diffuser will be here this week but I'm already familiar with tea tree, peppermint, eucalyptus and lavender oils from when I was a massage therapist. And I always believed in their healing and cleansing properties but after Blue was born, additional research felt like a luxury and time was best spent on sleeping. Now, ignorance is keeping us in a toxic holding pattern and Blue is finally sleeping through the night (although I hear there's an oil for that). 

These seem like lofty goals, but in 2016, Neal graduated, we lived in our RV for the entire summer, visited 8 National Parks, Monuments and Battlefields, moved to the east and started a whole new life. Compared to that frenetic pace, spending the next year implementing a healthier lifestyle seems like a chemical-free cake walk. I hope you will join us!