Don't Shoot! I'll Go To Texas!

I apologize for being so absent in recent weeks.  While I would love tonight's post to be something insightful or witty, it's simply a retelling of the conversation the tinies and I had on the way home from school.  If you have a job, have ever had a job or simply know what having a job is all about - or if you are obsessed with pizza (as am I) - hopefully this will bring a smile to your face:

Ballerina (4):  Why do you always have to go away to work in places so far away like Texas and California and Dallas and Texas?
Me:  Because some of the people I work with are there, and I need to go see them.
Ballerina:  But what happens if you tell them no and you won't go?
Me:  Well... I suppose I'd get fired.
Ballerina:  *aghast* You'd get what???
Me:  Um... fired?
Ballerina:  Like ready, aim, fire?  They'd shoot you for not going to Texas???

"Whaddya mean you won't go to Texas?! Them's fightin' words. Draw!"

Me:  No, no, no, baby girl.  *snicker* *cough*  I would lose my job.  "Get fired" means to lose your job.
Ballerina:  Oh.  Is that bad if you lose your job?
Me:  Well, if I don't have a job, then we won't have money.  And we have to have money to buy stuff we need.
Ballerina:  So we need to have money so we can sell money for things like food?
Me:  ... Sure. Yes.
Ballerina:  And we need to have money so we can sell money to stay in our house?
Me:  Yes.
Ballerina:  Wow. [contemplates a moment]  You need your job, Mommy, because if we can't have money to sell money to live in our house then the dog will be all by herself and she'll be lonely and who will feed her?
Me:  Let's not find out.
Bear (6):  Yeah, and we need money for pizza.  Because if you couldn't order pizza, Mommy, someone else would end up fired.
Me:  .....

Hope and Awe

This past week, I had the great honor of being able to participate in helping a family in need. There was a fire near our house where the hydrants failed, and the families and firemen had to watch helplessly as the homes burned to the ground. What a tragedy, and what a travesty. And yet…

What I’ve been privileged to witness in the few days since has been nothing short of inspirational. In this day and age of greed and depressing news and Charlie Sheen and economic woes, a bunch of people – some I know, most I don’t – reached into their hearts, their homes and their wallets to give something to one of the families whose home was destroyed in the fire. This family was left with no residence, no clothes, no belongings, nothing. And today, thanks to the kindness of friends and strangers, they have a few precious items to help them feel a little less lost and a little more hopeful.

Now, I take zero credit for any of this, of course.  These folks are friends of a friend of a friend – I guess they’re friends thrice removed? But when I say I’m honored to have been allowed to help out, that’s no exaggeration. There is nothing as fulfilling to the heart and soul than knowing you have helped someone else, nothing better than knowing that you have contributed to someone’s security or happiness: no bonus, no country club membership, no flat-screen TV or Super Bowl win. Not even MARTA parking lot cookies. Nothing.

What’s even more amazing and heartening, to me, is the response of my neighbors. Two people I’ve never met before came to my door to donate whatever they could. Even more amazing (just how amazing could this get, you ask???), these individuals thanked me for giving them the opportunity to help someone in need. Let me state that again… these individuals didn’t know me prior to two days ago, and they definitely didn’t know this family, and yet they were grateful for the chance to give whatever they could to these people who find themselves in such a desperate situation.

If you haven’t done something meaningful for someone else recently, give it a try. I guarantee you’ll get back more in inner peace – many times over more – than what you gave.