Fall is finally upon us.
The Humanity House Community Garden received the brunt of the floodwaters, and cleanup from the flood and for winter has begun. This year despite the deer and the squash beetles, we were able to grow and give away 6,000 pounds of produce.
We were hoping for winter crops but the deer got to them right before the floodwaters would have. Such is the life of a gardener.
As it is for all of us, we never know when our best-laid plans will be done in by an act of nature or by willful misconduct. But in either instance, the best defense is to know that life isnt measured by failures, but how many times you give it your best.
We are lucky at Humanity House to see this on a daily basis.
Where others only see a person in poverty, we get to know them.
We watch their struggle to find jobs, pay bills, raise their children, juggle life without transportation, and sometimes we watch them fight substance abuse.
We see them come in on good days and on bad. We watch the ups and downs.
We cheer for them when they finally land that good job and cheer them all the way when they are able to finally get their feet on solid ground.
We listen to them while they struggle to make decisions that pit family needs against work requirements.
We watch them rise up and keep going or rise up and fall.
But one thing that everyone who comes through our doors has is the ability to see tomorrow as being better.
The optimism that we see, despite the living situations of a lot of the people who come to us, can be surprising.
Some of the biggest optimists are the people who have been abusing alcohol or drugs for a long time.
We talk to them as they come in, striving to do better. Beating themselves up for relapsing and promising themselves that they will do better.
