Kyle and I have been discussing how even though we feel like there is a lot to complain about a lot of the time......really his job is a testament to absurdity and the fools on the road and dealing with the electric company to get our tree chopped out of the wires and...there's oh so much...BUT REALLY we do not have too much to complain about. First of all we were lucky enough to be born in the USA instead of Afghanistan---gotta say I'm super duper happy about being able to leave my house without my husband since his work schedule would really crimp my shopping style and I like to be the one who drives. I recently met a woman who lost a baby 28 weeks into her pregnancy and our neighbor in the NICU lost her baby at 38 weeks and somehow we have a 29 weeker that seems to have suffered no ill-effects from prematurity. Kyle has a decent, stable, if sometimes frustrating job. Our baby has Grandparents that want to spend time with him. We both feel lucky to have not gotten stuck with freaks for in-laws...apparently this is an uncommon occurrence.
SOOOOO the point is we thought we really should be doing more to help others because honestly we do give good stuff to Goodwill, but only because the thought of a yard sale is unbearable and I just haven't gotten it together to sell on ebay and craigslist.
I am somewhat addicted to the blogs of strangers and I found Kathryn over at Daring Young Mom who writes that each year her family helps someone in need, though she says they should be doing it all year long. Western Washington's recent flood devastation (do you have flood insurance? odds are Oprah ain't gonna show up to help you) got us thinking about doing something to contribute to our community and I've also been quizzing newly married folks about their Christmas traditions with their new spouses and children. I think Kathryn has a perfect idea to combine the two and make it a family Christmas tradition to help others.
We'll start this year doing something to help someone in need each Christmas and hopefully it will grow into a bit more regular activism. If you link over to Kathryn's site she has first hand photos of the flood victims. I don't know her so giving her a donation may be unwise, but she provides links to the Red Cross and United Way. The local news says that Red Cross workers are required to commit to 3 weeks so all the Red Cross volunteers who have come from all over the country will stay through Christmas to help...I don't expect people to jump right into that level of dedication, but really everyone probably could do a little something extra to help. This time of year it is very easy to find a way...Toys for Tots, Food Banks, Blanket drives at the homeless shelter, Job Interview clothes for battered women shelters and don't forget the March of Dimes fights prematurity year round.
American Red Cross: Pacific Northwest Flood Relief
I'll get back to you with what we've decided to do. I have been listening to the news which has said at least 15 times about the guy who paid for the coffee of the car behind him at Starbucks and they did this for many cars one after the other. All the people the news are talking to seems to have felt really joyful over the unexpected niceness. So I think something that simple would count!
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