Monty shoveling snow in front of our Brookside home.

We’re all snowed in. There is a state of emergency in Kansas City. In the past few hours, I estimate we’ve had at least 6″ of snow fall, and it hasn’t stopped yet. My husband is out with the snowblower–and it’s so cold and windy!

I love snow days. This is the first big one of this winter season. I am working from home, at my desk with a window that overlooks the street. In the past two hours, I’ve seen one pick up truck drive by. It’s warm and wonderful.

This has been a rough week for Kansas City. On Monday night, JJ’s Restaurant on the Plaza blew up due to a gas line break, injuring several employees and killing one server. JJ’s was a locally owned restaurant (I sold a house last year to the co-owner’s daughter) that served excellent food in an elegant but simple atmosphere with friendly service and an extensive wine list. I enjoyed many fine meals there. And today, our city is shut down due to the storm. The airport is closed, bus service has been suspended and the KC Mayor is asking everyone to stay home.

And in the face of these two events that have personally touched so many, we KC folks have put others ahead of ourselves and reached out to help those directly affected by the JJ’s fire and snowstorm. There are numerous stories of other locally owned restaurants and wait staff reaching out to JJ’s employees, offering food and work shifts to get them by. Neighbors are taking in those stranded by stuck vehicles and check on older residents, bringing by necessities and shoveling snow. Social media and newscasts are spreading the word about the kindness of strangers to one another. Our Mayor has asked followers to tweet these stories using the hashtag #LOVEKC.

Some people will complain endlessly about the inconveniences that a snowstorm brings; some are pointing fingers at who exactly is responsible for the explosion at JJ’s. But most of us are out there helping one another, one person at a time, comforting those in need through random acts of kindness. We do what we can, in small ways, to turn a negative into a positive. That’s the attitude to have in order to get through events like this.