Be kind...for no reason other than to do it...please?

I recently took my son to McD's for breakfast, because he likes the breast platter, I'm a Hardees breakfast girl myself :)

Anyhow, we are there sitting and eating when we see this family come in. Mom Dad Son Daughter.

Obviously homeless. Dirty. Carrying their blankets. Just obviously tired.

The kids were in their teens, probably 15/16 ish. It was rainy out and grey and cold.

As I sat there with my son, I was overwhelmed with emotion, thinking about how difficult it must be for them. The Dad was in a wheelchair, the Mom was very worn looking with barely any teeth, the kids just looking so tired.

I noticed the Mom and Daughter going to the counter and she was holding a $20 bill.  Now I had just spent $17 on myself and my son, so I couldn't even imagine how she could feed all 4 of them with only $20.

I got up and walked over to them, and I quietly asked if she would let me buy her family breakfast. She very shyly smiled and said yes, her daughters eyes lit up. I told them to order whatever they wanted.

She orders small coffees, hot chocolate, and 4 sausage mcmuffins....that was it...I asked her if that was enough, and suggested the breakfast platter, her daughter spoke up quickly "that would be nice", so I told the cashier to add 4 platters, with everything, and asked again if she needed anything else, but she said no, they were on their way to a hotel.

I of course didn't have any cash on me because I NEVER do when I really wish I did, but I made sure they had a nice filling breakfast, and saved her $20 for something else they may need.

It broke my heart to see this family like this and to hear her only order the essentials, only order what she would have ordered with her own money, not to have her take advantage of the offer that I made. It was heart wrenching to hear her daughters excitement when offered a simple thing like a breakfast platter..

It really made me think about what I take for granted everyday. The food in my fridge, the house that holds that fridge, the luxury of having a bathroom/shower/washer/dryer for whenever I decide to use them. The paid off vehicle that I have to get my husband to work, and the other 2 vehicles in the driveway that aren't running right now, but we have the money to pay mechanics to come and fix for us.

Yet I am sad and I am depressed. How can I seriously say I'm depressed when I have so much, and so many others have so little and would love to have my life. How arrogant am I?

This is why I try, whenever I can, to be kind to people I see that are in need.

I try to be kind to everyone that I have to interact with, but I don't like interactions so I probably come off as stuck up or snobby...I'm just not making them interact with me out of kindness. :) It's really me doing them a favor..I'm terribly awkward in person.

I don't expect a medal for what I did. That's not why I am writing about it. I just never want to forget that family. I never want to forget that my life is actually pretty awesome. Even though we struggle, and money is crazy tight, and we may not have a big house and everything my kids want, we have what we need and we have a place to live. That is so much more than some, and it is so much to be aware of. My Mr. works so hard to provide the means for our large family to keep this weird little lifestyle we've become so uncomfortable in, and I'm glad he loves us enough to do that. haha

So please, keep breathing, keep going everyday...You are important, you are needed, and I love you!

Until Next time <3

Giving! Find a little Pantry in your town, and FILL IT!

We live in a town that is really much bigger than it should be. It is right next to a military base, and it just keeps growing. I am ready to move somewhere smaller and less congested. However, I do like that every now and then, I see something that makes me feel warm inside and think that this town does still have some nice generous people here.

We love to go Pokemon hunting with Pokemon GO and we found a "Little Pantry" next to one of our Pokestops recently. A Little Pantry is a cute little cabinet, that you can leave food in for people in that immediate neighborhood to have if they need something to eat. I love it. This particular Little Pantry, is in a trailer park, and I know there are a lot of kids, and maybe they might need dinner or a snack one day when they get home from school.

I remember when I was young coming home and not having any food in the fridge or cabinets, and searching for enough change to go to the little store behind my apartment complex to buy a cake mix for .88 that I would then just take home and make with water only because we didn't have eggs or oil/butter to make it properly. Wow, showing my age there, when was a cake mix .88 at a little convenient shop? I also remember they had the little pints of Ben & Jerry ice cream for $1...OMG..wow I am so old! hahaha But going without, really made me realize that there isn't always going to be someone to take care of you, no matter how young you are, so I tend to have a huge soft spot in my heart for people that may not have food..I never want anyone to feel like I did when I was younger.

SO we decided that whenever I go get groceries, we will grab some things to take to this little pantry. I don't know if there are very many people stocking as using what is stocked, as it barely has anything in it whenever we come by. I try to fill it up whenever we can, thankfully it's small so even spending a small amount makes it look pretty full :)


This last time we hit a sale at Publix BOGO on pasta and sauces and we grabbed a bunch! I love that my daughter loves taking stuff almost as much as I do! She will suggest going even on days I'm not shopping, and say "but mom, we have all this stuff in the pantry we aren't eating!" I usually reply with, "yea, not right now, but we will need to have something to eat until the next grocery day, right?" haha But sometimes she still gets me to gather some stuff and make a run over to drop stuff off. It's pretty close to us so it's easy to do.

So I suggest looking for one of these little pantry boxes in your town, or if there isn't one, build it! Find a neighborhood that may need things available for less fortunate or struggling families.

Another great little thing, is a Little Free Library. Fill it with books you've read and don't need any longer, and then people can bring their read books and choose a different one to read, and it just keeps going..I love these so much!

Just remember it doesn't take a lot to do something meaningful for others. Even when you barely have enough yourself, there is probably someone with even less <3

No matter how hard it seems, today will be gone in the blink of an eye, if tomorrow comes, even if it isn't better than today, it will pass as well, just keep breathing, just keep going...I do..see you next time :)