Basking the afterglow of a Christmas filled with laughter, fresh-baked cookies, melt-in-your mouth beef tenderloin and thoughtful gifts, I marvel at how blessed we are.
I also wonder if we’ve done enough for those who go without and acknowledge that by simply asking the question, I’ve also provided the answer.
Living in two cities, with jobs frozen statewide and separated more than we planned on and for longer than anticipated, it’s easy to slip into disgruntledness.
Yet having jobs we enjoy, jobs with meaning as well as the rarity of paid benefits like health insurance and retirement, are more than many can lay claim to this holiday season.
So I find myself feeling a bit guilty for harboring petty complaints while others go jobless, hungry and homeless.
My grandmother, a college graduate during a time when educated women were a rarity, always said that education is the one thing no one can ever take from you. Having lost her husband and her home to the Great Depression, she knew that jobs, social status and other accouterments of an upper class lifestyle were fleeting possessions at best.
Public schools and public libraries were free, however, and she made good use of them. She relished in learning, and passed that zeal to know to my mother, who passed it along to me.
It pleases me to no end that my daughter has become an avid reader. She’s on the path to a life of constant discovery and continual surprises — the ability to travel the world without ever leaving home.
So if I could wave my magic wand and give all the world a gift this Christmas it would be two-fold: the gift of a caring, competent adult to lead every young person through childhood and the gift of books and the ability to read.
That’s why I’m excited that our school district is going to launch a community-wide campaign next month to get more adults and more books in our students’ lives. They desperately need both.
I’m also very proud of my brother and his wife who have adopted five beautiful children who might not have had a chance for a full life, and my brother and sister-in-law who recently became certified to serve as foster care parents. That’s something my husband and I might explore once our children are grown, with a special focus on children with disabilities.
I’m convinced that if we had both of these things in ample supply, we would have much less hunger, homelessness and despair, and maybe even peace on earth.
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