Originally Posted by
Chicken lady
Today was a hard day to be a starfish thrower at the food bank.
a woman brought her young neighbor and the neighbor's little boy in to sign up. Then she took me aside to tell me the neighbor has a mental illness, so her behavior might be off the next time she comes in. She also felt a need to tell me she didn't know how long the neighbor would be coming because she had "a man" living with her who is "verbally abusive to both of them. I can hear him all the time from my house." (Is she hoping the girl will run? Get money from the man and not need food? Expecting her to be killed?)
the boy was the age of my heart grandson. He was very shy and uncertain at first, but he let me find him a new shirt from the rack and give him a bear. (the mom Said "thank you. He doesn't really have any toys."). I listened to her tell me all the reasons he misses school all the time, and I told him "I bet your teacher misses you. I'm a teacher, and I would miss you." I packed them Cheerios, pretzels, crackers, cookies, fruit salad and applesauce and threw in a bag of fruit gummies from my station, found the first bear a friend, and thanked him for coming to visit. And that was all I could do.
he looked happy when he left, but I was wishing I could have given him a new pair of sneakers (he needed them) and a book at least. And preferably a safe, quiet, predictable place to sleep and eat and play and read and learn and grow.
when my dd and her best friend first went to help at this food bank, the guy who runs it asked "so, are you just here for your graduation hours?" (required community service hours) and dd said "maybe next year, I'm not old enough to fill them in yet." And her friend said "I'm here because when I was a little kid, you fed me." He went out of state a couple years later and got a college degree. So, Cheerios and a bear aren't much, but maybe they're something?
Reply With Quote