"My brother's name is Andrew, he's a very friendly boy, unlike the recent hurricane who came here to destroy. It blew the roof right off my house, it knocked down all my trees, but my family's still all standing, I give thanks on both my knees..." Having lived through Hurricane Andrew in 1992, we became emotionally "swept up" in the experience of living through a hurricane and dealing in the aftermath of this ferocious natural disaster.
Our two little boys, 4 year old Richie and 2 year old Kevin, were snuggling together in our walk in closet with no windows. We pretended they were sleeping in a tent on a fictitious camp out and we wrapped them in safety in one sleeping bag. Fortunately they slept through the howling winds, power outages, torrential rain, lightening flashes and resounding thunder. The seemingly endless storm finally died down and as the sun rose in the morning, so did our thankfulness for remaining safe and for being spared from the eye of the storm.
Little did we know, that for so many lives, the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew would be even worse than the storm itself. The recovery process began immediately and neighbors helping neighbors was our call to duty. When groping for answers to share with my children in response to their inquisitive minds and heavy hearts, I believed a combination of words and actions were in demand.
The actions came from collecting and delivering water, baby supplies, clothing and food to our hard hit neighbors south of us. Richie and Kevin carried gallons of water and boxes of supplies and they instinctively knew they were helping rebuild the lives of people who were in need of support. Even at ages 4 and 2, they felt a sense of pride in making a positive difference in other's lives. But when I began searching for the words that would bring hope and joy to the many children who had to directly and indirectly cope in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, I learned that there were limited resources. There were books written on hurricanes but I couldn't find one that was written to emotionally embrace children.
Having met a little girl named Millie who lived in Country Walk, a community devastated by the storm, I was "blown away" by her resiliency after learning that Millie and her family lost everything but the clothes on their backs. Instead of focusing on her losses, this 11 year old girl celebrated the survival of her family, their health and well being. After all, nothing else in life matters. Thus the children's book "IF HURRICANES WERE CANDY CANES" was born.
A children's story that non-fictionally captures a real life situation while allowing the imagination to explore the possibilities of a sweeter outcome. "Pretending helps to cheer me up, I think it might help you. If hurricanes were candy canes, we wouldn't feel so blue. If hurricanes were candy canes, it would be very sweet, a big strong wind would blow right in with candy canes to eat! Instead of knocking over trees, they'd hang from limbs with pride. Just reach right up and grab a few, they taste so good inside."
Dana Fishman, Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Child Therapist says "IF HURRICANES WERE CANDY CANES is written creatively to enable children to step back and look at their own experience. Yet its realistic message encourages children to step forward and express themselves. This book gently embraces children as it allows them to cope with their fears and loss resulting from Hurricane Andrew."
"And now is the time to talk about our feelings and our fear, so that we may rebuild our lives, which are so full and dear."
Rebuilding for children is not about replacing shingles or even replacing materialistic items. It is about hope and new beginnings. It is about safety and security. It is about family and health. It is about expressing what is inside so that they can move forward on the outside. And there is no better gift that we can give our children than the opportunity to relate to others who share their feelings. "I am not alone" is the best realization for children when facing dilemma's, challenging times or any real life situations. And the appropriate children's book is the perfect compliment for those special moments in time.
"If hurricanes were candy canes, I think you would agree, that they would be more welcome than the storm we got to see. At least the hurricane is gone and neighbors nationwide, have come to lend a helping hand and stand right by our side. You know it's sort of funny, but this I figured out~ people have been STRONG AND SWEET, like candy canes, no doubt!"