Shrove Tuesday

Today on the Western calendar was Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday). Therefore, there was a pancake breakfast at our kids’ school this morning. One of the reasons I love my job: I found out about the breakfast last night and called work this morning to say I’d be late because I was going to the breakfast, and everyone was okay with that. I love my job.

But I mention the breakfast because while I was there I was able to talk with one of the parents that I see around the school quite often, and I know that she has a daughter in the same class as my daughter. We’ve never had a chance to really talk before, but I think it was Providence that we were both there at that time. She and I chatted, and I found out that she lost a son a few years ago from a drowning accident. It’s amazing how perspective of a person changes when you find out about the tragedies they’ve faced in their lives. I can’t even imagine losing either of my kids. Okay, so I placed a son for adoption 14 years ago, but that was different. I know him now. He’s a wonderful teenager (I can say that because I don’t live with him 24/7 *lol*). No, really…… He’s a great kid. And he’s still so full of potential. My kids are full of potential. Brendan, at the moment, wants to be an engineer. He’s not sure what kind except he wants to be the one that makes the most money :D. And before that he wanted to make buildings or own a shop and be a Dad. Shaeleigh wants to save animals and people and be a Mom. She loves to paint and has a sense of order. To lose that before they grew up would feel like a future robbed.

And yet there are so many kids who are robbed of their futures. The teens in Nova Scotia who died in that van accident. Two baby girls who froze on the Reserve close to here. A teenager at the hospital died from cancer. We have no idea how long we get. And here I whine about my 36 years and am afraid of what is going to happen with my kidneys. Although, to be honest, if it weren’t for my kids, I think I’d be a whole lot more okay with it. I’m selfish and want to see their potential realized.

And here I’m going to add my two cents about helping other children realize their potential. I have been a Compassion sponsor for over 10 years, and have never regretted it. The little bit that I spend each month (less than cable tv – about the cost of my cellular phone), helps a girl realize her potential when she may never have had the opportunity to otherwise. If you are reading this and do not have a child that you are sponsoring, PLEASE visit Compassion’s web site and seriously consider sponsoring today. If you do sponsor a child, write a letter today letting that child know how special he/she is. You really can make a difference.