A response....

It's been a while since I've hit the blog. School (for both of us), work, keeping the house unstinky, a snot plague and general exhaustion have been to blame. A friend posted a link to another blog on Facebook today and I was so moved that I wrote a response to it. I thought I would share it here.

ThosePeople

My response:

I recall 2008 when the economy tanked and the cost of living in our area practically doubled overnight. People were getting laid off left and right. We were a party to those layoffs. I still had my job. It paid for rent and utilities. No food, no extras. John had just started a new job but we hadn't started getting paid yet. Our savings was depleted after months of searching. He was a lucky one, some people we knew went more than a year with not even an interview. I'm a food hoarder, so we were pretty well set up, but the cupboards got really bare. We called all over town for help. There was no help to be had except for one place that was able to give me a small banana box with some mac and cheese, a couple loaves of bread from a grocery bakery, some dented cans of soup and a few assorted random things. It was humiliating, but we were so grateful and it made all the difference until we were able to get back on our feet. 

Times are better now and I did some volunteer hours this summer in a food pantry with my son. There was no greater joy in this world than handing people food and knowing that they would have a meal on the table for their children that night. I loved the look in kids eyes when they came through and we handed them a special goody from the local bakeries. I recall one mother who worked full time to support her 3 small children and went to school. She came through and blinked back tears as one of the workers presented her son with a birthday cake from the freezer. The very next day was his birthday and she had no money for a cake for him. Those people are my people.

Most of us have needed help at some point or another. Those of us who haven't, well, good for you. That doesn't mean that hard-working, good people haven't struggled and haven't needed help. It disturbs me to think that there are people out there that seem to think that if you have go to bed hungry to keep a roof over your families head that you are therefore no longer of value. Every person is of value. EVERY. PERSON. Even "bad people" have value. No one is less deserving of the basic sustenance of life. Even if it is fancy South American grain.