I belong to a Mothers of Multiples group. Among the many hats I wear for the club, 'Philanthropy Chair' is the one I have recently donned the most. I LOVE this responsibility. Over the years, I have found that there is a fine line between selflessness and selfishness. And that line is beginning to blur for me right now; because while I'm helping others, it makes me feel really good! If you are a philosopher, I believe act utilitarianism is at work here. It's all for the greater good, right?
For Thanksgiving, our club donated all of the perishable items to a transitional home that houses 12 women and their young children whom are trying to pick themselves up out of their varied difficult situations to make a better life for their family. I received the wishlist, did the grocery shopping, stored and delivered the food just before Thanksgiving. Jordan and Mikayla knew what I was doing and Mikayla (and the 3 little ones) were with me when I delivered the food. Three big turkeys and three big hams. 20 lbs of potatoes, gallons and gallons of milk, etc. There was a lot of food. I got to meet several of the women while I was there. One thing stood out. These women don't have many things. They arrived with literally the clothes on their backs. One woman requested a particular veggie. Another woman saw it and said how she would love to have that same veggie but she didn't request it. Without hesitation, the first woman handed over her veggies to the second woman. I had a moment of pause. Now that was selfless!
It just so happens that the woman whom handed over her food is also the woman that our club is sponsoring for Christmas. Her actions spoke volumes to me that day. And I have been working hard to try to get everything on her wishlist and make this a wonderful Christmas for her and her family. Our club and it's members have been extremely generous. I am thankful for that.
I'm also thankful for this dose of reality. It's so easy to get wrapped up with material things. We live in a townhome and have constantly been talking about how we have outgrown it. How we need a bigger single family home. We have been frustrated that we are stuck where we are because of the lull in the housing market, among other things. But you know what...we have a nice, warm home. We are comfortable. We are healthy and our bellies are full. It would be nice to have a larger home...but it certainly is far from a NEED. It was nice to step back and be thankful for all that I have instead of mourning the things that I don't have.
Censoring Toys for the Needy - a post within a post
I have tried to teach Jordan and Mikayla the concept of giving. They are starting to get it. They will both be picking out a toy and giving it to Toys for Tots. Jordan knows exactly what he is going to get. Mikayla on the other hand had to go shopping to scout out the possibilities. She pointed at everything we saw and said "...that would be good for a little girl..." "...I bet she would like that..." Then we came to the Bratz dolls. Mikayla said "Mom, I'm definitely not going to get her a Bratz doll. 'Cause what if her mom doesn't let her have Bratz? Then she wouldn't get a toy at all, and that wouldn't be good!"
I don't let Mikayla have Bratz =)
Another example of Mikayla's rudimentary understanding of giving goes back to when we were talking about what was on her Christmas list. She said she wanted a Barbie dollhouse. I pointed out that she already had 3 different doll houses and she didn't need another one. Mikayla said, "Well how about I give my Dora Castle away to a kid that doesn't have anything." I said, "That would be nice Mikayla." Then she said, "And then I could get the new dollhouse." I laughed and then explained to her that giving things away was really nice and thoughtful but that didn't mean she would get an upgrade on the item she gave away. She gave her typical "Oh" response. She's learning.
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