Already eight days into the month, and I’m just getting around to publishing this!

I really must love the pressure or something.

Now, to share with you the February installment of Project: We See You.

The good people at the Houston Coalition for the Homeless are collecting supplies for a number of homeless who now, thanks to so many, finally HAVE A HOME!

But, a house with nothing in it really isn’t a home at all…in the true sense of the word, anyway.

These people have fought tremendous odds their entire lives.

No, they aren’t lazy.

No, they aren’t moochers.

No, they aren’t trying to take advantage of the system.

Trust me when I say that they do not want to be who they are, or where they are. My guess is they’re already hard enough on themselves, without needing the extra judgement and side-eye of society, all of which are unproductive and damaging to the cause.

(If you don’t have anything nice to say….)

Luckily, there are people who are putting their heads together, thinking up new ways to help the homeless. Because, obviously, what we as a society have been doing isn’t working, and isn’t nearly enough.

Many cities are joining in a new Housing First approach, in an attempt to tackle the homeless epidemic from a different direction.

The lovely Whitney, of the Coalition, explained it to me in more detail.

“There are thousands of people in Houston who have lived outside for long periods of time, and who have severe enough issues with mental health and/or addictions that keeping a home is extremely challenging.  When you talk to these neighbors of ours, you learn that their lives have been anything but easy, and oftentimes beginning as infants or young children were dealt the hand of sexual, physical, emotional abuse or neglect.  Research has shown that when our brain develops in this environment, it is limited in its ability to experience feelings of happiness and security, and many people turn to drugs and alcohol as a way to experience those feelings.  ‘To expect an addict to give up her drug is like asking the average person to imagine living without all his social skills, support networks, emotional stability, and sense of physical and psychological comfort.  Those are the qualities that drugs, in their illusory and evanescent way, give the addict,’ according to Gabor Mate, a doctor who works with chronic substance abusers.  The hopeful thing is that our brains have extraordinary abilities to heal when surrounded with communities of support and opportunity.  In addition to our neighbors dealing with substance abuse issues, there are many people for whom mental illness has made exiting homelessness extremely challenging.  For people in these situations, permanent supportive housing can be a key to identifying the support needed for find stability in housing and health care.  While it might seem counter-intuitive to give someone a home before they address the issues that lead to their housing crisis to begin with, all of the evidence proves that it is much easier to work on issues of addiction, mental health, and other issues people are experiencing when their days are not consumed with looking for a safe place to sleep at night and the difficulties of surviving outside.

Houston currently has more than 3,000 permanent supportive housing units and providers are working diligently to ensure that appropriate housing options are available for even people with the most challenging needs.  A collaborative of providers are working together to house at least 165 people, who are chronically homeless with behavioral health issues, exit homelessness over the next 2 ½ years.  Through use of housing authority vouchers, intensive case management, peer to peer recovery support, and access to health care, 10 people have already moved into their apartments since the end of December, and another 20 will have moved in by the end of March.  While it might seem almost too good to be true to many of the people exiting homelessness, the vouchers are theirs to use for as long as they need them, and we are doing everything we can to help overcome issues that might lead to risking losing their housing again!  The grant funds are able to purchase a bed and table and chairs for each household, but we know that much more is needed to help make their apartments into homes.  We would love help in securing additional items.”

If you would like to learn more, I urge you to take some time, click on the link below, and watch the video. It really helped me gain a much better understanding of the housing first approach.

Home at Last?

Below I’ve listed some of the items needed most.

·         Shower Curtains and rings

·         Microwaves

·         Vacuum Cleaners

·         Brooms

·         Shampoo and soap

·         Pots and pans and dishes

So, if you’re interested in helping, and have an old broom, some pots, pans, and plates, or anything else you think would help, contact me, and I’ll arrange a way for you to get it here! Or, you can always leave a comment and I’ll get in touch with you.

Also, Whitney recommended I read Gabor Mate’s book, “In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts,” for a real eye-opener as to what a lot of these people have experienced, and what led them to a life without.

You guys have been tremendous. And, I certainly don’t expect you to just keep giving and giving and giving every time I ask! But, at the very least, I urge you to explore your own community’s homeless services and ask them how you can become involved!

It takes a village to give someone a village, right?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for always being so inspiring and supportive of all I’m trying to accomplish.

Cliche as it is, I could not have done any of it without you.

Have an awesome weekend!

And, for my next installment of Project: We See You…

Yesterday, I woke up overwhelmed.

As I do.

I spend much more time stressing out about the things I need to do, than it takes to actually do them. And, I’m not talking about husband-sex, weirdos.

I showered (2 points!), got dressed, and slipped on an old ring I found. It’s bigger than my hand and older than both my kids. I think it is probably something I picked up from from Urban Outfitters, back when I was still cool. Sometimes, I feel like it gives me extra sass and bigger balls. Like a hipster superhero ring of sorts.

Also, I figured if something went wrong with the transaction over at Raising Cane’s (in Cypress), I could just coldcock the general manager, Mike Guido, in the nose really fast and run off with the gift cards he’d offered me.

But, luckily, I didn’t have to knock Mike out, because he delivered – and BIG TIME!

He walked out with a huge handful of box cards, and a smile – a very cute one at that (no disrespect to his wife, of course)! I would’ve been happy with a mere fingerful of cards, but Mike gave me way more than that.

*Cue the standard, awkward Allison interaction*

OMG. THANK YOU SO MUCH. CAN I HUG YOU? Do you mind if I take your picture? Because, you can say no, my husband does all the time. I get it.

But, Mike didn’t leave me hanging, or make me feel like a dork. He accepted my awkward hug him and let me take his picture. Then, he handed me their card and said he’d love to help out whenever we need it!

I thanked him again, and headed back to my car to check that off my list and plan my next move. I drove away from Cane’s, then did a U-turn through a bank parking lot, and pulled right back up to the Cane’s drive-thru for some grub.

I hopped back on the highway and immediately went into hungry-raccoon mode, ripping into the chicken strips with my bare-hands. They don’t make blue-tooth for chicken fingers, so it was risky, but I can be pretty crazy like that.

It was my first time eating there and it. was. amazing! In fact, these chicken strips are so good, that if I’d been PMSing I probably would have just pocketed all the box-cards and gone underground for a week or two.

It got me thinking…who even needs Chick-Fil-A (besides them, of course.)?

My friend Justin told me that Raising Cane’s was known for generosity and helping out in their communities. Boy, was he right.

The best part was that Mike replied to my public tweet with a private message. He didn’t offer his donation to be acknowledged, he did it just to be good.

Aside – I nearly published this post with that last sentence reading “Pubic” tweet. Yay for editing!

Thank you so much, Mike! You rock! Almost as much as Cane’s special sauce.

I drove over to the Texas Medical Center, where the oh-so-helpful George Irvin of McDonald’s had arranged for me to pick up the remaining 150 Arch cards at their Texas Children’s Hospital location.

Mr. Irvin has been a god-send getting all of this figured out. Especially since I sleuthed out his number and cold-called him out of the blue one day, asking him to process 1,000 cards in a one day.

And, then continued to text him things like this….

Poor George.

He’s taken me in stride and been so gracious, bending over backwards to get all of this done in time.

Back to yesterday…

I pulled up to Texas Children’s to get the last bunch of cards for tonight.

Aside #2 – The building below is located right next to Texas Children’s and I’ve always thought the architect must have somewhat of a boob-fetish.

Where were we?

Chicken fingers….boobs….Oh, right, Arch cards!

This past Friday, they processed 850 $5 Arch cards at the same location, ringing them up one by one through the register, which took the manager her entire shift.

I offered to help speed things up this time around and they let me slide and activate the cards one by one.

This takes so much longer when you have to pee.

LaToiya Harris was the unlucky one who got stuck helping me. She put up with my very bad jokes throughout the entire process. Like, when we were nearing the end and I told her, with a fake cry, “I’m really gonna miss you when this is done.”

She was amazing, quick, efficient, and so gracious! Not an easy feat considering the woman behind me was yelling at her, “I JUST WANT ONE MORE BBQ SAUCE!”

I’d also like to take this moment to apologize to her for leaping over the counter to bear-hug her on my way out.

Juliette, the manager, came out to see how things went, and handed me a STACK of free sandwich coupons. So wonderful!

I told her I was going to tweet her and she looked at me like I had just offered her a weird sexual favor. So, I explained to her what Twitter was, as best I could.

I walked out with an unmarked, white paper bag of coupons, feeling like I’d just made a very important sausage biscuit drug deal.

With not a minute to spare, I booked it over to the homeless shelter to get trained for tonight’s youth count.

It’s not in the nicest part of town, so I ended up handing out a few coupons along the way.

Cities are required to take part in the annual point-in-time count. Per the Coalition, “The point-in-time count is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the local Continuum of Care funding process which brought over $23,000,000 to the Houston, Harris County and Fort Bend County homeless assistance programs in the FY2011 application process.”

In other words, the PIT count allows the government to know how much money and what types of services are needed in each community.

This year, there’s a pilot program – Youth Count! – in nine cities (including Houston) across the country. They’re trying to come up with more efficient and comprehensive means of tracking and counting homeless youth in America, and get answers to questions like…

Why are these young people homeless?

How did they end up there?

What do they need?

I was saddened to hear that up to 40% of homeless youth here are gay. Some of them have been kicked out of their homes for simply being who they are, making their parents despicable monsters in my eyes.

Tonight, I’ll be stationed at a homeless youth shelter from 5-10 pm, where they’ll send in young, homeless people for me to interview.

The final numbers will measured and sent to HUD.

I shall slip into my professional pants and try not to adopt anyone tonight, but I can’t promise I won’t try to hug them.

It’s kind of a thing with me.

It’s crunch time.

The bags will be distributed this Friday!

I still have so much work to do: more sorting, more sealing, more stuffing.

Yesterday I spent the morning going through the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.

It was….sticky.

After cleaning the bottles-with-the-strange-hair-on-them, I did a little redistributing, so each set would be like new.

Luckily, I had a helper.

After five minutes he declared, “This is hard work. mommy, I just need to relax.”

He gets small pieces of what we’re doing, but the number of people living without is hard enough for an adult to wrap their mind around, much less a four year old.

But, yesterday, on the way home from the zoo, we spotted a homeless man and Luca asked me if we could buy him a house.

I wish we had enough money to buy everyone a house, but we don’t, so we just have to do what we can, when we can, to help make their situation a little more bearable.

On Friday, I picked up fifty of these reusable water bottles from Dollar Tree, to add to the bags.

And then on Sunday….

I just need to zip up the bags so the little people in my house will stop nabbing the tasty treats. And, by little people, I mean me.

I still need to print out the We See You flyers, with our area’s homeless services printed on the back. So, if anyone knows of a good online template or print resource, let me know.

I’m also hoping to pick up a Metro Bus card to slip in the bags.

I’ll post pictures of all the items in each bag, once I’m done filling them.

You guys have been so amazing.

One of my best friends even bought new underwear to put in the bags!

And, another friend has started her own bags, which led her sister to start her own.

Uplifting to me, in so many ways, during such an awful time for our nation.

Thank you for being so damn good.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”

~Fred Rogers

If you’re wondering what this is all about…

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

Part 5.

Part 6.

The toothpaste, toothbrushes, and deodorant arrived! Yay for clean teeth and armpits!

I ordered fifty winter hats and gloves yesterday, which should be here by week’s end.

It pretty much looks like Costco threw up all over my house…which, how great is that?

When I started this project, my only intention was to make my mark in a very small way. I never asked for any sort of help or donations, it never even occurred to me. The holidays are hard enough without someone else hitting you up for stuff.

But, giving is contagious I guess, and it only took one person pitching in for generosity to spread like wildfire.

My friend Jamie texted me the other day, asking if she could drop off a check, and come by to help bag-stuff. This is an amazing gesture on it’s own, but even more so considering what Jamie’s going through. This woman never ceases to amaze me. Thank you, Jamie. I love you!

Three other awesome friends also dropped by this morning, each contributing in their own way. Jennifer, Kelly, and Vanessa – thank you for being you and for being there for me.

I have a tendency to scheme up all sorts of grand ideas, but I usually freeze up when it comes to actually getting them done. Because, well, there are those with Type-A personalities, and then there is me, more of a Type Z.

Luckily, Jamie and Kelly are the most efficient people I’ve ever met, so they were able to get all the supplies organized in a manageable way. Jennifer brought huge boxes of wipies and baggies and was on her hands and knees sorting, bagging, and stuffing. Vanessa also threw her whole-self in, and helped pack all the supplies, including the fifty blankets she donated (her ponchos are still on the way!).

Now that things are in order, it’s easier to figure out what I’ve got and what I still need (hardly anything).

And, I still have shipments coming in from everywhere. A Twitter friend just sent Q-tips. Another friend, chapstick. And, still another, disposable razors.

So, as of right now, here is where we’re at…

Since the beginning, I’ve had so much support from a wonderful friend who lives in my computer. The other day, she had the brilliant idea to include notes of encouragement to slip in each of the bags.

I think mine will say something like this…

“I see you. I know you’re there, and that you need help. You will not be overlooked or ignored. And, I promise you that I’ll no longer avert my gaze to avoid making eye contact with you (TO MAKE MYSELF FEEL BETTER) when we cross paths…”

If anyone wants to shoot me a message, I’ll be more than happy to include it.

Also, my friend Lindsay, out in California, designed these for the bags…

….initially intended to be used as tags to tie on each one.

But, this morning, Kelly had a great idea to use them as cards, with information on Houston’s homeless services, resources, and locations printed right on the back. Love it.

I’m so thrilled to hear that many of you are starting similar projects in your area. Imagine all the people who will benefit?

I’ve had many people ask if they can still help. I think right now the best thing you can do is to help people in your community. But, I know what a time-suck life can be, so if it’s easier to pitch in for the Houston homeless, this is definitely not your last chance. I plan on making this a regular thing, because people are homeless year round.

Now, off to the Dollar Store for nail clippers!

xo

If you’re are wondering what this is all about…

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

Part 5.

So, where were we?

Oh, yeah, right HERE!

When I began planning Project: We See You, I didn’t think far enough ahead in regards to how I would get these bags into the hands of those who need them most.

My usually always supportive husband was super excited about the idea of the bags, but much less excited at the thought of his wife aimlessly wandering around Houston, searching for people who needed them. And, while this is something I would do, I totally get his concern and where he’s coming from. I’ve got to do this the right way, and the safe way, for everyone involved.

I spent the weekend stepping over enormous bags of toiletries and toilet paper, searching for ideas as to how I was going to pull this off.

And, then, life threw me a bone.

Well, it was actually my friend Kelly who threw it.

She sent me a text early this morning, letting me know she’d just dropped off a newspaper article on my front porch.

I got home, turned on some Bubble Guppies for Leo, and sat down to read it.

And, I’m so glad I did.

The article shined a light on Houston’s very own, Marilyn Brown, President & CEO of Coalition for the Homeless of Houston, a wonderful organization dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.

The tone of the article struck a cord with me, particularly this…

“So, who exactly are the homeless, you may still wonder? The answer is simple and sad: they are us.”

(You can read the full article HERE.)

So, I put on one more episode (okay, two more) of Bubble Guppies and sat down to write Marilyn an email, asking her what my next move should be.

An hour later I received an email back from the coalition’s Community Engagement Director, Gary Grier, who had the perfect solution to my dilemma.

“We have a wonderful suggestion.  On Friday, December 21, 2012, we are hosting the In Memoriam for the National Homeless Memorial at the Steps of City Hall, 900 Bagby Street, Houston, Texas 77002.  At the event, we are expecting up to 400 homeless persons to attend as a reading of the names and memorial service is conducted from 5:30 to 6:00pm.  Set up is starting as early as 3pm.   We will have tables and an area set up for donations at the event and you could give out the items that evening…”

BINGO.

And the spiral of awesomeness continues….

That means I have ten days to get everything in order for the event.

More great news: I just received the bags, so I can finally start loading them with essentials.

That’s not all.

(My UPS man is working his ass off this week.)

My sister-in-law’s shipment of fifty, brand new, long-sleeved Old Navy t-shirts arrived today, too!

Along with fifty new blankets from my awesome friend, Vanessa…

…who also sent fifty rain ponchos, which are en route to my house as I type this.

A few days ago, my cousin Celina dropped off these items…

THESE are the things I never even think about. But, homeless women get their period, too. Can you imagine not having the products to deal with your time of the month? I can’t.

And, because there are so many times I see a homeless person with a dog…we can’t forget food for their furry friends.

I ordered gloves and winter hats today, and I’m waiting for the dental hygiene kits to arrive.

So, we’re all caught up.

I’m relieved.

I’m excited.

And, most of all, I’m so inspired.

Have an awesome week, you guys!

xo

Yesterday, I was chasing a naked baby around the house, scolding a four year old boy who was being more naughty than nice, and on the phone with a tech who was trying to restore my wonky internet service (gasp! first world problems!).

So, of course, our wannabe-ferocious dogs began barking at someone on our porch. I toddler-stomped to the front door, myself prepared to bark at the Girl Scout or Jehovah’s Witness I expected to find on the other side of it. But, I was pleasantly surprised (and relieved I wouldn’t have to yell at a Girl Scout), because it wasn’t someone trying to sell me something, it was someone trying to give me something. My dear friend Shonali was dropping of supplies for We See You.

Shonali is an amazing woman. Every time I’m feeling down or overwhelmed, and I run into her, she has a gift for making me feel instantly at peace. She’s has a special spirit and a kind soul, and I’m so grateful to have her in my life.

(Oh, and I failed to mention that just the day before I received a paypal donation from my sweet friend, to go towards supplies. She’s known to many of you as the pee-your-pants-funny Lady of The House, but she’s known to me as a kind-heart and good friend. THANK YOU, lady.)

Anyway, Luca and I jumped in the car later that day and headed over to Hilton Houston to pick up their donations.

Of course, in Houston traffic, a short drive is as common as a snowstorm around here.

We sat stopped on the highway five minutes too long for a four year old, who quickly went into angry dragon mode.

Houston has a huge homeless population, especially downtown, so it was no surprise that we saw many people camped out in nooks under the woven highways.

Luca pointed out a man to me, huddled beneath an overpass, and I told him that is exactly why we were doing all of this. He then handed me his half-eaten bag of goldfish and said, “Mommy, I want to give the rest of these to someone who doesn’t have enough money to buy goldfish.”

Finally, I thought, it’s sinking in.

Then, this song began playing on the radio…

So fitting, because Tere and the rest of the Hilton gang have hearts of gold, and I’m so grateful for them.

We reached the Hilton, pulled up to the loading dock, and waited.

Tere met me outside and let us in to the area of the hotel where all the magic happens.

Luca was impressed.

(I was, too.)

She told me that someone from Housekeeping was on their way down with the donations.

I waited, expecting someone carrying a couple of bags to approach us.

Then, I saw this.

I wanted to cry, but instead I just kept saying thank you thank you thank you.

We went to my car and a nice, quiet-but-strong, man began loading it.

Bags of bar soap. Bags of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion. Bags of toilet paper.

I told them I was preparing 50 bags.

They gave me enough for at least 200.

I unloaded the bags and set them in our backyard. My husband then walked out to this…

Which would have been weird to some, but my husband has been married to me for too long and is seldom caught off guard.

And, then? It began to rain.

I ran inside screaming at him to help me carry the bags inside, hoping to avoid a bubble bath in our yard…and wet toilet paper.

We ran in and out, rescuing the bags as fast we could. We were drenched and exhausted (bar soap is the heaviest thing I’ve ever lifted), and we were laughing so hard our stomach’s hurt.

I hugged him and reminded him, as I often do, that he knew what he was getting into when he married me.

So, today, I sort.

This…

…placing aside all that will fit into the We See You bags, and donating the overflow directly to local shelters to be put to good use.

You know, I’ve talked so much talk for so many years, but I’ve never actually gotten off my lazy butt and done anything.

So, thank you all so much for inspiring me to walk the talk, and for reminding me that people are so, so good.

To be continued….

If you’re are wondering what this is all about…

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3.

It’s Christmas time.

It’s cold outside (cool, if you’re in Texas).

It’s such a heavy time for many.

And, it’s time for me to walk the talk.

On the agenda this weekend: A trip to Costco for supplies to put in my We See You bags, which I’ll keep in my car, ready to whip out when I meet someone who could use a leg up.

I would love for you guys to join me, even if you put together just one! That’s one HUMAN BEING that you’re helping.

What will I put in them?

Blankets, sweatshirts, socks, a toothbrush/paste, energy bars, water, wipies…..

I would love your ideas on what else might be useful to someone living without.

Update to local businesses willing to pitch in. Here is what we need.

Feminine products, underwear, socks, wipies, deodorant, t-shirts, sweats, waterproof ponchos, lip balm, water bottles, blankets, ear plugs, first aid items, canned goods, water bottles (reusable and plastic), shampoo, combs/brushes. bus passes, stamps, cards, tote bags, AND ANYTHING ELSE WE TAKE FOR GRANTED.

Yesterday was one of those days when you’re hypersensitive to everything around you…when you feel things, rather than simply observe them.

After dropping my son off at school, my youngest and I took our usual detour back home, via the Starbucks drive-thru. While I was waiting at the window for my one year old’s home-cooked breakfast, I noticed a homeless women sitting on the curb, camped out next to her things. Everything she owned was shoved tight into a bag, as worn and tattered as she was. It was evident that she was the junkie everyone admonishes you for handing a buck to.

Nevertheless, you’ll still find me stopped at a red light, frantically searching the bottom of my purse for loose change; for coins covered in gum and dirt. But sometimes when I drive away, the bitterness washes over me. Because I know, or at least I think I do, why they are where they are and exactly where my money’s headed. But, I quickly temper this with the thought, “Oh, well, it’s nothing for me to give a buck, and what if I really am helping to put food in their mouth? If there’s even a one percent chance of that, then it’s all worth it.”

Besides, if I had to sleep under a bridge, I’d want to numb myself, too.

But, yesterday was different. The bitterness wasn’t there. The only feelings that washed over me were incredible sadness and gratitude.

Let me back up a bit.

The day before this encounter, I spied this photo on my Facebook feed.

It got me thinking about this, more so than most messages of the like.

“…then you are morally obliged to help life’s underdogs.”

The word underdogs punched me in the gut. Hard.

A few days earlier, I’d come across a letter I’d written to my firstborn son, shortly after his arrival four years ago.

In it, I said to him, “I hope you root for the underdog.”

I hope that more than anything. That is the kind of person I’m desperately trying to raise him to be. Not a successful doctor or lawyer, not a scientist who will cure cancer one day, but a kind and compassionate soul.

It resonated with me for another reason as well.

As a society, we often pick and choose who needs our help, and who it’s acceptable to turn our backs on. We hand out charity to those we deem worthy; junkies and deadbeats need not apply.

But, who are we to decide who is worthy and who is not?

The Golden Rule is not, after all, “Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You…Unless...”

It’s impossible, in the one minute it takes the light to change back to green, to look at the man holding up the cardboard sign and chalk him up, figure him out, or categorize him as worthy or unworthy of our help. For, we haven’t a clue what got him there.

No, we have no idea what led someone to inhale that first hit of crack or to their insatiable craving for alcohol. All of which they may have traded for a home.

Or the perfect storm someone may have been hit with, causing them to lose the things they worked so hard for their entire life.

Or the mental illness.

It could be anything.

How easy it can be to judge and speculate from the comfort and safety of our air-conditioned cars. I know this because I’m guilty of it.

But, rather than looking down on them, shouldn’t we instead stop for a moment and ask ourselves, “What if that were someone I loved, and I wasn’t able to help them? Wouldn’t I want others to?”

The person you see on the street corner with the dark, hollowed eyes, is someone’s family, and someone’s friend. Although we certainly shouldn’t be legally obligated to help them, are we not at least morally obliged to do so? I’m speaking about this not as a religious person, and not in terms of any God, but simply in terms of being human.

Just as the barista was about to hand me my order, I cocked my head, sweetened my voice, and said to her, “I know there’s, like, the longest line of fiending caffeine addicts ever behind me, but you think I could get one more cup of coffee and some sort of pastry?”

Then, I pulled my car up to the strung-out woman on the curb and said, “I have an extra cup of coffee and some food if you want it.”

She jumped up so quickly that I feared she would break her frail, malnourished body in half.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she shouted, jumping up and down.

Then, she peeked in my backseat to find my one-year-old smiling at her. Smiling back, with tears rolling down her face, she mumbled to me, “I’ve always wanted to be a mom, but I could never take care of a baby. Just look at me.”

“I’m so sorry,” I told her. “But, please know that your shoes could undoubtedly be on my feet one day. And, I’d totally hope for a cup of coffee and some pumpkin bread if you could swing it.”

And, really, that’s the bottom line.

I would hope that my fellow human beings would help me in my time of need, graciously, and without an ounce of judgement or condemnation.

Because at the end of the day, why the hell else are we here?

*This post was also published here.