(no subject)
The thing that no one told me about being a mom is that it's like wearing your heart on the outside. I can't hear about bad things happening to children without feeling awful.
So instead I give money, which is woefully inadequate, and I suck, but it's better than nothing. I gave two Thanksgiving dinners via the Giving Tree at work, and I bought a Razor scooter and helmet for my Angel child, and then there were more wishes on the tree, and so I bought crayons and markers and paper and coloring books and an easel for another child. Today is the last day, and there was only one wish left on the tree. I called the Angel Tree people and they said that if I wrote a check they'd buy the present so the child would have something when Santa comes to deliver presents at their office tomorrow. So I wrote a check for twice the amount, and I cried as I wrote it. I hope this little girl enjoys her "books to take home" (isn't that sad? Books are something you visit, to her), and her new coat.
I have this impulse to just go drop off the toys I've hidden in the car for Sarah, because she's too little to know what she's missing and I can buy them again after Christmas. But I think I will resist, and resolve to send one week's worth of groceries and one "wish"* every month throughout the year. Kids need books in July, too. Right?
*A week's worth of groceries for a family of four is $50, and a wish is $15. So, $65 a month. I can find something to do without, because Sarah has enough to eat and wear and a place to live with parents who love her, and these children don't. And my employer will match it, so it'll be two wishes and two weeks' worth of food.
So instead I give money, which is woefully inadequate, and I suck, but it's better than nothing. I gave two Thanksgiving dinners via the Giving Tree at work, and I bought a Razor scooter and helmet for my Angel child, and then there were more wishes on the tree, and so I bought crayons and markers and paper and coloring books and an easel for another child. Today is the last day, and there was only one wish left on the tree. I called the Angel Tree people and they said that if I wrote a check they'd buy the present so the child would have something when Santa comes to deliver presents at their office tomorrow. So I wrote a check for twice the amount, and I cried as I wrote it. I hope this little girl enjoys her "books to take home" (isn't that sad? Books are something you visit, to her), and her new coat.
I have this impulse to just go drop off the toys I've hidden in the car for Sarah, because she's too little to know what she's missing and I can buy them again after Christmas. But I think I will resist, and resolve to send one week's worth of groceries and one "wish"* every month throughout the year. Kids need books in July, too. Right?
*A week's worth of groceries for a family of four is $50, and a wish is $15. So, $65 a month. I can find something to do without, because Sarah has enough to eat and wear and a place to live with parents who love her, and these children don't. And my employer will match it, so it'll be two wishes and two weeks' worth of food.