Perhaps the most fascinating thing about being Mama to my darling girl is the joy of watching her personality emerge and grow. Over the course of the past three years there have been several of these moments where she catches me completely off guard with her observations, where she gives me glimpses of the person she is and the person she’s going to become. It’s hits me in the gut each time, and it’s absolutely humbling. This little person is amazing and beautiful and so very much her own person, and I’m overwhelmed by my love for her.
Let me get to today’s story. I’ve been struggling for weeks now to be patient with Sweet Girl while she eats. She’s a frustratingly slow eater, precisely as I was when I was a child (yes, karma’s a b*tch, and yes, my parents think this is hysterical, haha…ha…) We remind her to keep eating, we try to help her eat, we remind her some more, but she’d rather be doing a million other things and then snack later, which is a habit we don’t want to encourage. We’re working on some ways to handle this better, and today, after getting quite upset with her because breakfast had taken nearly an hour and a half, I sat her down and started to explain why it is so very important for her to take the time to eat. She needs the food to grow big and strong; carrots help her eyes see better; milk helps her bone grow strong; you know the schpiel. Anyways, I decided to explain to her that she’s very lucky to have delicious food available and that there’s little boys and girls out there who aren’t as fortunate and don’t have food to eat, and some don’t even have a place to live . Yes, a few weeks shy of 3 years old is perhaps early to begin this very important discussion; however, she’s a very astute little girl and today seemed as prudent a time as any to mention it.
After we talked a little more, I could see the wheels turning in her head. I waited, and she finally said “Mama, can I give food to the little boys and girls who have no food to eat?” “Wow, Sweet Girl, I think that that’s a really fantastic idea.”
“Mama, can I give them someplace to live, too?”
“You can, honey. There’s special groups of people who help little boys and girls who have no food and no place to live, and we can bring them food and other things to give to those little boys and girls. Would you like to do that?”
“Yes, mama, I want to do that.”
“Well, the next time we go to the grocery store, how about we pick up some extra food to give them?”
“Okay, let’s do that.”
You know, this next month is going to be chaotic at best, and it’s SO damn easy for me to lose track of how Thanksgiving and Christmas are as much about giving back as they are specifically for our own enjoyment. Leave it to my daughter to bring that front and center for us. We’re going to buy food, and we’re going to take her to a food pantry for her first exercise in service. May she always be as generous in heart and spirit, and may I have the wisdom and humility to continue to learn from her.
What I’d really like to tell her is that I asked you all to undertake the same task to buy some extra food for local families who need it. Perhaps this is something you already do, which is awesome; I’d like to tell her that, too. Perhaps this is something you’d like to do, but needed an extra nudge, like I did, to put it on the priority list. Locals, who would like to come with us this weekend to drop off food? Non-locals, would you be willing to organize something similar among your friends and neighbors? I can’t think of a better use of this blog than to turn her idea into something bigger than what our little family can do. And I think I’ll forego the new recipe idea this year for spending a little extra time and money on those less fortunate than ourselves.
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