Traditionally (at least in my world) Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday season. It seems as if the daily mail delivery includes ten times as many catalogs and requests for donations from the various non-profit organizations. And generally, I take my donations and spread them around to my favorite charities. The Salvation Army starts their kettle program which is another tradition my family takes part in during the season. The rule is to never pass the red bucket without making a donation – even if it’s the same bucket that you passed on the way in and way out of the store. However, this year was a little different than past years.
This year we adopted a family for Thanksgiving that had been living off of Ramen noodles. A family with two young children that were having difficulty making ends meet. One major medical emergency with one of the kids and overpriced health insurance that covered very little of the expense had thrown this family into a financial crisis. To top it off, the cost of daycare had made it cost prohibitive for the mom to work, leaving dad as the sole breadwinner in the family. College educated and with a good job, is not exactly the poster child for what is essentially working poverty. It broke my heart.
I’m not a stranger to poverty. As a child, I grew up in an upper middle class home. Mom was housewife and active in the PTA. It was idyllic. Until my father lost his job. That’s when life spiraled out of control. We lost our home and had to move into a rental. From there it became a guessing game of which utility would be turned off for lack of payment when you got home from school. I’ve done homework by candlelight and had to heat bath water using the fireplace. We were lucky in that we had family to help us and never had to worry about dinner on the table. It may have been a simple meal, but we never had to resort to Ramen. (Not that Ramen is bad food, just not something you want as your only meal every day.) We were also lucky in that it was only a very short period of time in our life. It was my mom that got us through the hard times. We went from spoiled to broke in the blink of an eye. Many great lessons were learned, but the one that sticks is that everyone needs help every now and then. AND that an education gives you the means to avoid this type of situation.
Except that this year, I know that’s not true. Having an education is no guarantee. Neither is having a steady job. I looked up the definition of working poverty and the current poverty rate. It seems the definitions for both depend on whether you’re applying for assistance in some way. I finally gave up on it and decided that if you are living from paycheck to paycheck and using credit cards to keep up with the very basics of life, then you are poor. One medical emergency should not push a person or family over the edge. It especially shouldn’t do so when you are paying for medical insurance. There is something completely wrong with the system when the insurance premium is what puts a family budget on the edge and then fails you when you need it. Our lawmakers should have to experience this before they start debating entitlements and telling people to “worker harder” or “get an education.” While money certainly doesn’t grow on trees, they could at least be more empathetic and understand the true impact of their decisions.
So my family will be hovering in the background, ready to help this family through the Christmas holidays too, if necessary. It’s a short term problem. And that’s what makes it even more frustrating. Families like this slip through the cracks because they have too much in the eyes of the government. And yet just a little help would make a world of difference. As horrible as it is to see the abject poverty like that shown on the television commercials for groups like Feed the Children. It is just as reprehensible that families in our wealthy nation cannot support themselves after following “the rules.” It makes me sad that children in this country are learning the lesson that an education and hard work doesn’t necessarily guarantee them a financially secure life.
As we begin another holiday season, my only wish is that when the need arises I’m able to answer the call, to be the helping hand that’s need at the moment. Just as everyone deserves a second chance, they also deserve a helping hand.
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Movie recommendation: I discovered a gem of a film on Netflix this past weekend. “The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.” I found it because of my current obsession with WWII and the aftermath. This movie is based on a book and while it definitely takes creative license with the source material (at least according to Wikipedia), it was beautifully made. The focus of the film is on the island of Guernsey and the effects of the German occupation during the war. I loved this movie. I don’t have the words to explain why, it just did. Sometimes that happens with a movie when you least expect it.
On an NFL side note – I’ve been a Washington Redskins fan since I was a child. That being said, I’ve never been more disgusted to be a fan than at this moment in time. So much so, that while I don’t wish injury on any player ever, I think their current round of bad karma is deserved. Last week the team signed Reuben Foster a whopping three days after he had been released from the 49ers due to a domestic violence charge. Three days. I don’t think that even counts as lip service in a league that was supposedly going to be tougher on domestic violence and sexual assault after the Ray Rice incident. Disgusting.
On a lighter note, is there a standard as to what side of the restroom belongs to men or women? For some insane reason, I keep walking into the men’s restroom in one of our offices. I keep going right instead of left. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve never actually walked in on anyone. Until the other night. I walked smacked into the cleaning lady’s cart and scared the heck out of her. Pretty sure she thinks I’m some kind of pervert with a penchant for hanging out in the men’s restroom.
