And then...

Every once in a while, you kind of realize that you have accepted the fact that the world can be harsh and how jaded you have become to how cruel the world really is! All it takes is a child to remind you that innocence can quickly be lost and make you wonder why we can't all have that innocent view point of how the world SHOULD work!

On Friday evening, DD & I were driving to my in-laws. I noticed at an intersection that there was a group out with collection cans. Now - I usually try to throw a handful of change in when I see someone collecting. My thought is - it may not be much, but if my kids see me giving even a little, that they too will want to give a little something now & then. And I've been told - every little bit helps.

So I throw my change in their can and they had me the little paper for Feed my Starving Children (the organization they are collecting for). She asked me what we had stopped for, so I told her that they wanted a little money to help out with the kids who don't get to eat all their meals everyday. She read over their little paper. That opened the door to SO many questions.
"Why don't they get to eat?"
"Why can't their mom & dad get them food?"
Oh, man - how do you explain to a 7 year old that the world can be a cruel place sometimes? I tried to keep it as simple as possible. I told her that sometimes moms and dads work very hard and sometimes they have to choose whether to have a place to live or food to eat. (I don't know if that was the right way to put it, but...)

She was quiet for a little bit then said, "It makes me sad that there are kids who don't have food like me. Maybe we could do something to help." I told her that by giving a little money that would help and maybe we could look into volunteering to pack meal boxes.

It gave me a warm feeling to hear her say that. So that is now my mission to get us a volunteer spot. It makes me feel good to know that my kids care about others and want to help.