Happy Thanksgiving! What's for dinner?

I've come across a lot of articles recently about poverty, the disappearing middle class and the continuing depressed economy. They aren't easy stories to read.

I've been poor. 

When I was young, 4 or 5 years old, my parents declared bankruptcy. I remember the 5 of us sleeping in one bed with little or no heat in the house. Food was scarce, sharing one box of macaroni and cheese for dinner, rarely having fresh fruits or vegetables. When I was 12 my parents divorced, and my mother who hadn't worked in 16 years was left to raise 4 children with no income. We lived on food stamps and received food baskets from local churches, which one year supplied us with Thanksgiving dinner. I'll never forget that basket. It looked like months worth of food to me, and we probably stretched it out for weeks.

I remember the time a neighbor had us over for dinner and served spaghetti WITH meatballs AND garlic bread. She told me years later that my comment "this is like two dinners at once!" brought tears to her eyes. 

We did not get new clothes, except for holidays when our grandmother would buy our Easter or Christmas outfits. Otherwise it was all second hand from neighbors or cousins. 

Going to the doctor was often a luxury we couldn't afford, and we didn't have health insurance for years at a time. We would go to the clinic to get our shots and physicals so we could register at school.

Things many consider inexpensive luxuries were not present in our house. Paper towels and tisssues were for "rich people" and, there were honestly times we did not have toilet paper. 

When inspection was due on our clunker cars, my mother would ask the mechanic to show her how to make the necessary repairs because she couldn't afford to pay him to do them. 

Birthday parties and extra curricular activities weren't even discussed. We knew we couldn't afford them. 

My point is not to gain sympathy, but rather to point out how pervasive and perilous poverty is. Especially for children. There is an innate lack of security when basic necessities of heat, food, and health care are lacking. How can they worry about letters, numbers, hopes and dreams when all they can dream about is a warm full meal? This lack of security is not something that goes away when the refrigerator is full. 

I just read an article on CNN about a new character named Lily that Sesame Street is introducing in a new one hour special. Lily is struggling with "food insecurity" (inadequate access to food for a healthy lifestyle). Hooray for Sesame putting a face to a problem so many children are facing. But how sad that it is a problem needing a face. 

I feel incredibley blessed and aware of the fact that One Philly Daddy and I have never had to worry about feeding our family. We've never had to choose between food and medicine, and if there's no milk in the fridge, it's because we haven't been to the store yet, not because we can't afford it.

These things are not a given for me and I truly appreciate being able to provide milk AND juice AND snacks AND meals AND anything else my family may need. It is a blessing I do not take for granted. 

So when the envelope came in the mail today, asking for donations to feed people Thanksgiving dinner at a local shelter, I wrote a check, instead of just thinking I should.

What good are blessings if they aren't shared?