On My Mind Lately

I went out briefly today to get gas and run to the store and I heard a clip on the radio from a young woman who was inspired to become a teacher because her mother had been a teacher for 30 years.  She talked about the hours (7am-6pm and work at home, on the weekends), money of her pocket, lesson plans, grading, commitment, passion and none of it was a complaint. She was proud of her work and the only thing she said was that she hoped the work teachers did wasn't undervalued.  A husband was talking to the radio show host and could barely hold back tears as he talked about the commitment his wife had to her special education students.  When we stop caring about the education and care of our children, we are definitely in trouble as a culture.

My heart goes out to those in New Zealand and in Japan and all the places impacted by the earthquakes and tsunamis and by the potential issues with the nuclear power plants.

Sometimes, I get overwhelmed by all the problems and tragedies in our world. I didn't feel overwhelmed today - just thoughtful. Just wondering how to participate without politicizing, how to help without growing fatigued. There is so much need and so much to do. I know we can pull through and help others. That's the good part. People step up when there is the most need. Sometimes it takes something tragic to step outside of ourselves, but if it works, then that is the lesson we have to take from it all.

Black Friday First

I have never been a Black Friday (aka Day after Thanksgiving Sale) person. (I hate that now we don't even call it the Day After Thanksgiving Sales now.) I used to work retail and I had no choice but to be there.  One year, with Roby, he decided we should go to Clackamas Town Center after work and instead, we ended up in a 3 hour traffic jam. When we got through it, we found out there had been a horrible accident with a fatality on I-205.  That night, we found out that his cousin's best friends had been in the car - one died and one suffered a traumatic brain injury.  

So, it is natural that I associate Day After Thanksgiving shopping with pain (the traffic jam and working as a retail clerk) and tragedy (the accident and the aftermath as a result).

This year, I arranged a Toy Drive which has been something of a failure. I was trying to do something good at work because I thought of how privileged we are and how much need there is in the community we work with...but I guess I didn't sell it right or I underestimated charitable feelings at this time of year. So, I decided to do it myself.

Today, at 4:45am, my alarm went off and I got up and went to 2, yes, 2 local stores. I managed to get gifts for 25 kids for approximately $160.  My mother asked if she could participate so a couple of the gifts are from her. The gifts aren't lame or anything - they were just well-priced.  I decided that I felt ok about shopping today if I was getting gifts for kids. 

All in all, I feel good. I wanted to show the people at work how easy it could have been for them to spend $5-10 for one gift. It makes you feel good and it will definitely give a child a little bit of holiday joy. I am still boggled by the lack of interest - it is even a charity that is within our specialized community (Deaf Kids).  I guess it doesn't matter where the gifts come from, as long as they come. Right?