Friday saw the Boy and I headed off on a series of errands to include our usual stop at the food pantry. Wishing there was time to take the camera in another attempt at capturing the makings of a photo essay, that exists only as a still formless idea, we instead loaded only the groceries into the car. The food was packed in along with a bag of hand-me-downs for a friend's daughter (eldest of several girls so that all feminine clothing is going to be used by someone eventually) and a bag of items headed for the Goodwill. Middle Child's computer finished up the list of items to be remembered as it heads back in to Electronic Big Box for another repair. With multiple stops, this was no day for an extended visit to the food pantry seeking photo ops.
During our outing, someone suggested in response to our plans for the Thanksgiving Honduras trip that it would be good to at least attempt to teach the offspring about serving those in our community. Eh? We.should.be.serving.those.closer.to.home. My mind immediately responded with concern. Oh, dear. Oh, my. We are so busy caring about the people in La Miskitia that we are failing to care for those right here in our own neighborhood, city, county...
That is patently, utterly false. The Boy grinned as I began to verbally list ways we ought to be helping others. He said, "Mom, where have we been today?" Oh. Yeah. "The food pantry... where they know us by name," I respond. He adds, "And Goodwill. And we are dropping off clothes to help another family. Mom, again with the Really?!" He is right. The friend who received the clothes for the household full of sweet, little girls commented on how easily guilt can be triggered, and that friend and the Boy are both certainly right in this instance.
2 comments:
And you are teaching them well by your example!
Yes you are teaching them well (and me too). I have been a busy bee dropping off clothes and dishes at the Salvation Army. I plan to go back again to drop off shoes later on today.
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