LA ❤️ + HOW TO VALUE *YOUR* CONTRIBUTION

Program note: I have so much to share (related to extreme weather, practical and emo considerations, etc.) that I’m splitting thoughts into multiple parts, so please stay tuned for my next email. 👀 It’s full of pre-thunk prompts you can use to prep (mind, body, soul, fam, home, etc.) for extreme weather if you so choose. Together, we can put my experience / anxiety to good use 🤠

FIRST - California love. ❤️

As we’ve discussed before, and will continue to because this is life in 2025+, action is the antidote for anxiety around here.

You can count on me to be watching, listening, over-processing, and organizing potentially useful info in times of need. 🙃

One thing I’ve learned in recent years is that whether you’re looking to give and/or receive, the shortest and most efficient path to support, especially in early stages, is often through grassroots local organizations like those in the links below.

If you’re in / around LA or helping loved ones connect with local resources, here’s a useful resource roundup from LAmag.com.

And helpful tips from a podcaster and pulmonologist on how to navigate air quality in affected areas - more to come on their Health Exchange pod next week.

If you’re looking to send donations and support and haven't had a chance to search for links to trusted organizations, give these a go:

🚒 LA Fire Department Foundation

🍏 LA Regional Food Bank

🤝 California Community Foundation

💞 Caring boots-on-the-ground bonus link: Here’s a powerful video of firefighters saving family photo albums from a home that wasn’t save-able, placing them safely across the street.

Reminds me of the famous Mr. Rogers quote:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

On that note - let's talk about helping.

And valuing whatever form our brand of help takes in a given season / situation.

After this week / year / decade, it’s clear that extreme weather isn’t just a fear for many of us. It’s a reality. Not an if, but when.

Since moving back to Houston in 2017 we’ve become unusually accustomed to wild weather — flash flooding in the spring, hurricane-related flooding in summer-fall, extreme heat, extreme cold (that our TX infrastructure doesn’t support), extreme winds blowing trees into streets, schools, homes and knocking power out for days.

We treasure mild, beautiful weather. ☀️

When a storm is coming, you can feel our collective nerves on edge.

(Even regular rain has me on edge these days, TBH. We had an intense experience last year that I’m still working through.)

So much of Houston was underwater after Hurricane Harvey dumped unprecedented rain on the area.

As a resident of the internet, my natural response was to post to social media sharing helpful links and info about resources and time-sensitive volunteer rescues happening by boat. 📲

At the time I felt like I was yelling into a void. Like the rest of the world couldn’t hear us, didn’t see us, couldn’t possibly grasp the reality of what was happening to our hometown.

Sadly now many more folks can relate to these "unprecedented" weather extremes. Like a health crisis or loss of a loved one, their effects are all-encompassing.

It was an all-hands-on-deck situation.

At the time, I felt terrible (even ashamed?) that I couldn’t physically help more.

Looking back I can see that (like many moms / primary caregivers) I vastly underestimated the value of caring for our two young boys while my husband volunteered his time and tools to help our neighbors muck their flood-muddied houses in the days and weeks that followed.

My share-to-social contribution didn’t feel like enough.

But here’s the plot twist.

Skip forward three years, to September 2020. ⏭

A friendly IG connection replied to a poll I posted, which bumped up a previous DM I had never seen from her, originally sent **August 30, 2017** (peek Harvey days):

[It's a message that says, "Nikki, THANK YOU so much for using your platform to share the FB page for the rescues the other day. A friend of mine who lives in the panhandle was panicking yesterday when her grandma, mom, and uncle in port arthur were starting to see the water rise. I passed along the FB information to her this morning and she was able to get them all rescued. Thank you for sharing the information, you quite literally were a lifesaver!" With a photo presumably shared by her friend of her family's home, flooded almost up to the roof.]

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

I couldn’t believe it. Still gives me chills.

What if I hadn't seen the rescue group and shared to my profiles?

What if she hadn't seen my post and shared it with her friend?

Felt like a divine knock upside the head to say, “What was that you were saying about the value of your contribution again?”

It took an incalculable network of people to organize, share, volunteer their time, energy, boats (!) to create that rescue group and get the word out. And it was one of many.

We are ALL needed.

Whether we reach one or one million, online or on our block, we all have influence.

Even if your post, email, text feels dinky in comparison to what you see the helpers on TV or across the street doing.

Every action adds up. 🧱

Even if that action feels insignificant in the moment -- if all it does it to offer you a bit of relief amidst the grief of situations beyond your control, that’s significant too!

It's important.

You're important.

Thanks for doing your part from wherever you are and for wherever you are.

Life is gonna keep life-ing, and our ability to respond is our power. ⚡️

On that note....

This next email also feels like a must share. Came to me this morning before I was fully awake.

I started typing it in my notes, then a doc, and then it ballooned into at least three emails. 😬

I want it to be easy for you to scan, use, and share, so it will eventually become a blog post, but for now it will be its own email with the above subject line.

Please watch for it.

Kind of like a birth plan / preferences list… even if all you do is READ it, knowing your options and things to consider can help you feel more ready if / when extreme weather makes it to your doorstep.

Back soon. ❤️

P.S. Do you have any of your own tiny-action-makes-surprising-difference kind of stories or examples? If so and you're up for sharing, I'd love to read them!

Also, if you haven't yet, open up my last email + send me your digits. We're playing dream phone. 📞 Thoroughly enjoying the convos I've been able to have this week.