Nights are cool, windows need to be closed and quilts help to keep the kids and I warm. Autumn is on it's way in. Days are getting shorter and pretty soon sunset will be happening at the same time as the boys and I sit down for dinner.
We can breath a sigh of relief that the warm humid days of summer will be behind us, and we no longer need to worry about how hot and uncomfortable we will be while wondering if we will ever get that a/c repaired. Thankfully this past summer has been cooler than norm, someone was looking out for us.
While we may be thankful that cooler days are coming, I am reminded this morning when I read articles and headlines of homes for sale under $50,000, that there are many people ...many parents and children out there dreading the snow and cold and life in winter ...while homeless.
I found myself scanning a website with listings of these below market value homes, and wonder about the story behind each one. Who was the little girl that once called that pink room bedroom her castle? Or how many meals did some family share in that dinning room? How many holidays ...special moments....were celebrated there? Were the owners of the home young parents who dreamed about their children's future? Where are they now?
Yes, each of those homes have a story of a family contained within it's walls...
Perhaps someone lost a job....
Or someone became ill and medical bills piled up....
Maybe it was that adjustable rate mortgage that got away from them before help came...
So many listings....so many homes...so many stories being untold. And then there are those who never owned a home to begin with......
Lives changed forever...some will find strength ...some will only see anger...while some will get lost in despair.
Needless to say I absorb the untold truths, and survey my own situation....knowing that one day a picture of my home may be the cliff notes to the existence the children and I have had the last few years.....never say never........
The air in my home is cool this morning...a quilt is wrapped around my shoulders...and I wonder about those homes...those people....are they warm?
In the background Face the Nation is on....they're discussing Swine Flu, education and pay for teachers.
I wonder why no one has been talking about the homeless. It's been a long time since I've seen any news show that highlights their plight.
Why?
Time for a Google search on homeless, and this is what I found -
by ERIK ECKHOLM
New York Times
Excerpt below...
While current national data are not available, the number of schoolchildren in homeless families appears to have risen by 75 percent to 100 percent in many districts over the last two years, according to Barbara Duffield, policy director of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, an advocacy group.
There were 679,000 homeless students reported in 2006-7, a total that surpassed one million by last spring, Ms. Duffield said.
With schools just returning to session, initial reports point to further rises. In San Antonio, for example, the district has enrolled 1,000 homeless students in the first two weeks of school, twice as many as at the same point last year.
“It’s hard enough going to school and growing up, but these kids also have to worry where they’ll be staying that night and whether they’ll eat,” said Bill Murdock, chief executive of
Eblen-Kimmel Charities, a private group in Asheville that helps needy families with anything from food baskets and money for utility bills to toiletries and a prom dress.“We see 8-year-olds telling Mom not to worry, don’t cry,” Mr. Murdock said.
I've heard those words coming from my son..."Don't worry Mom - don't cry" ...words no child should have to say...unfortunately life for many dictates another reality.
How do we change this?
Winter is coming...so many children are about to feel a cold they will never shake....
Maybe if all of us remember that every time we see that nice home for sale under 50 grand...there's a child comforting a parent...maybe then together all of us can make a difference...
There has got to be a way that together we can provide a quilt of comfort for those who are in need.
Snow is on the way..........
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