Facebook

Reading Facebook often scares the bejeezus out of me.  I get insight into people that I never had before, and frankly, some of it is disgusting.  Someone I worked with at church thinks the movie "2016" is full of truth and that helping the poor is opening the door to communism.  Others insist that all people on welfare are just slackers.  When did we become such an ugly nation of mean, greedy people?  So, yes, I'm on my soapbox again today.  I was so upset by smarmy Mitt Moneybags in the debate last night that this is what came out.

A Day in the Life of a Poor Kid

You get your little sister up, because your mom has already left for one of the three jobs she works because your dad left after your sister was born because he didn’t want the responsibility of a family. Your mom had to leave school at 16 because her dad died and she had to help keep the family together, but that means she never makes much money. There’s only a little dry cereal left, so you give it to your sister and take her to the neighbor who will walk her to school. You walk a mile to the bus stop because funding cuts took away the school bus. On the city bus, the other kids make fun of you because you smell. You smell because the laundry is three blocks away, and also there was no money for it this week because your sister got a bad ear infection and had to go to the doctor. The bus gets stuck in traffic, so you’re too late to school for the free breakfast, so you are hungry, and you’re tired because one of the neighbors deci...

ded to start firing a gun and your mom made you and your sister sleep on the floor in case bullet came through the wall. Lunch will be your only real meal of the day, but it’s so embarrassing to have to show the free lunch card. Your mom keeps saying that they’re going to cut the lunch program, and you wonder what you’ll do then. After school, you work at a grocery store to try and help the family, but part of your earnings have to go to pay the neighbor who watches your sister. Your boss gives you some fruit and vegetables that he was going to throw out, so that is dinner because your mom doesn’t get paid until tomorrow. Because you worked after school, you have to stay up late to get your homework done, which is hard because the neighbor is yelling again, and you’re hungry, and you’re tired. You don’t have a computer, so you’ll have to get up extra early the next morning to get to school to use the old one in the library, because your teacher insists that you can’t turn in handwritten work. You wonder if you’ll ever be able to go to college. You wonder if your life will always be this hard.

 

Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven.  The Bible also says, "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land." 

 

Christians...need to act like Christ.

Remembering Halloween Costumes

I was running around packing and cleaning to get ready to fly back to Indiana to see my dad and other mother, and to Cape Cod to see my mom, and when I went to dump a load of laundry in the machine I discovered a bag from JoAnn sitting on top.  When I looked in, I groaned.  Why?  Because there, sitting in the bag, forgotten, were the makings for a 40's style hat that I had promised Elder Progeny I would make for her this week so I could mail it to her before I left.  Ugh. 

So, I sat down at the sewing machine and started.  And what happened was this - I had fun.  I realized that I really miss those days before Halloween, when I would be frantically trying to finish not one but two costumes by the day of the class party (except in the year when I made American Girl doll costumes to MATCH the girls' costumes AND made a Holly Golightly costume for our babysitter.  Nuts.  Majorly mental.  I was also working almost full time and volunteering for everything under the sun.  Those days are LONG gone....)  But I enjoyed those days - loved the whole process from picking out the costume pattern on through the end.

In fact, it's only because of those costumes of yore that I had buckram around instead of having to go buy it today in the midst of crazy packing!  How many people do YOU know who have buckram in their house?!  (For those of you who don't know, buckram is heavy open weave cotton that has been stiffened with starch.  It's used for lining, to help things keep their shape.)

Anyway, here's the (almost) finished product.  EP still needs to put on a frill of netting and the elastic strap to hold it on. 

 

Our babysitter as Holly Golightly...

 

Maybe my niece will let me make a costume for her daughter next year!