My only resolution in the new year
All right, admittedly, I have a few. But they're the usual, the ones I have throughout the year: write more. Make more of an effort to play with my kids. Eat better, exercise, be kinder to myself. Me, me, me.
This post from Cranky Mama made me sit up and take notice, especially this part:
I don't know why that got to me. Maybe because I read it just before Christmas, when we'd already gotten the kids their toys and we knew my in-laws had their usual half-a-living-room's worth of presents for all of us (but especially the kids).
I knew poor kids when I was little, the kids with unwashed hair, and I wondered how they could stand their scalps itching, because I sure couldn't. Well, now I know.
This year I'm going to try harder to help the poor. We've done token efforts in the past. The ubiquitous end-of-year clothing donations, for one. (Ah, the incentive of a tax break.) Our grocery store lets you tack on an extra $5 to your bill to donate to the Salvation Army, and puts out brown bags of dry goods for the local food pantry, which you can buy for $10 each. We've done that. But as people in food pantries and shelters point out, the poor aren't just poor at Christmas.
I was shocked when I read this on the food pantry box at church: food stamps do not pay for many essentials, including toilet paper, laundry detergent, shampoo, soap. Soap. WTF?
We've struggled in the past trying to pay our bills, and we've been able to rely on the kindness of family and friends to make it work. We're still not in such great straits, but it's better now than it has been (the price of home heating oil in New England notwithstanding). And even though I'm trying to save more, I think I can manage to spare a few bucks a week to buy some essentials for the truly poor.
This post from Cranky Mama made me sit up and take notice, especially this part:
Because, when I was a poor kid (and I am aware that my situation was much, much better than some) there were times - months, sometimes - when we couldn’t afford propane, and that meant no stove (we cooked everything with an electric frying pan), no heat, no hot water. Bathing in cold water? Not a hell of a lot of fun, especially in winter. Did I wear my hair in a ponytail for the better part of seventh grade so that no one could tell I hadn’t washed it? Yes, yes I did. Did it work? Uh….
I don't know why that got to me. Maybe because I read it just before Christmas, when we'd already gotten the kids their toys and we knew my in-laws had their usual half-a-living-room's worth of presents for all of us (but especially the kids).
I knew poor kids when I was little, the kids with unwashed hair, and I wondered how they could stand their scalps itching, because I sure couldn't. Well, now I know.
This year I'm going to try harder to help the poor. We've done token efforts in the past. The ubiquitous end-of-year clothing donations, for one. (Ah, the incentive of a tax break.) Our grocery store lets you tack on an extra $5 to your bill to donate to the Salvation Army, and puts out brown bags of dry goods for the local food pantry, which you can buy for $10 each. We've done that. But as people in food pantries and shelters point out, the poor aren't just poor at Christmas.
I was shocked when I read this on the food pantry box at church: food stamps do not pay for many essentials, including toilet paper, laundry detergent, shampoo, soap. Soap. WTF?
We've struggled in the past trying to pay our bills, and we've been able to rely on the kindness of family and friends to make it work. We're still not in such great straits, but it's better now than it has been (the price of home heating oil in New England notwithstanding). And even though I'm trying to save more, I think I can manage to spare a few bucks a week to buy some essentials for the truly poor.