A Lucky Little Guy

For those of you who don't know, I work at a Title One school. A Title One school is a school with a large low-income student population. The school where I work has approximately 90% of the students receiving free and/or reduced lunches (and breakfast). Grooming and hygiene is a big issue for a lot of the students that I work with, and the clothes that some of these students come to school in is often depressing.

I digress...Amy and I each have too many clothes. We like clothes, and we like shopping for clothes; it is somewhat of an addiction. Because of this, we are often cleaning out our closets and donating a lot of the second hand clothes to students at my school. I often end up seeing students wearing clothes that once belonged to Amy and myself for days on end. It is sad. Our worst things that we are willing to depart with become these students' best things.

Ryne is lucky. He is loved. He has two educated parents. His parents each have jobs that allow them to go without want. He has parents that are advocates for him. He has an extended family that loves him. He has plenty of clothing. He has a stockroom of diapers. He always has formula to keep him fed. He has plenty of space for himself and his things in his home. He has a ton of toys to keep him entertained. I could go on. He has everything that he needs; furthermore, he has parents that are able to provide him with the things that he may need, but doesn't have yet.

I see a lot children on a daily basis that are not this lucky. They aren't ever exhibited love from family members. They don't all of their family members involved in their lives. Their parents are distracted by the negativity that occupy their lives. These children come to school hungry. They come to school early and stay at school late because school is a much better place than wherever they call home. They never want snow days because that means they don't get to come to school; school is guaranteed to have the heat turned-on. They are crammed into small living quarters with brothers, sisters, cousins, and others.

The disparities are depressing. I thank my parents for raising me to work hard, and be able to work for what I need. However, more than the ability to work hard is needed in most instances. Too many children are born into situations that lack the resources that will allow them to prosper. And for that I thank God. I was blessed to be born into a great situation, and I am blessed to bring my son into a great situation.