Moving Mountains Final Revision

The music in the background became dull now as we moved further and further away from the concert. My daughter and I had just finished watching a free concert that took place in a beautiful park as a kickoff to summer in the city. Night had fallen and the air was calm, but the crowd was wild! Concertgoers exited the park with smiles on their faces and autographs in their pockets. A roar mounted over the area where an anxious crowd was waiting impatiently to catch a glimpse of the country music stars leaving the area.

My daughter was one of the ecstatic ones! Still thrilled from the excitement of going to her first concert and also from catching the drumstick that had been thrown from the stage, my daughter's face was lit up like the morning sun. She could have stayed in the park forever, but as I watched the clouds begin to roll in, I knew it would only be moments before we were caught in the thunderstorm that was headed our way. The entire walk to the car was filled with conversation about how much fun she had and how lucky she was. We were however, about to discover how lucky we truly are.

Our car was parked on the other side of a hill, across from the parking lot. As a short cut, we decided to race up and down the hill, attempting to see who could make it to the car first. As we reached the top of the hill, we saw a young boy, probably not older than eighteen lying near a fountain, attempting to fall asleep. One, thin blanket was all that he had to shield his body from the cold.

Tears instantly filled my daughter's eyes as I watched the horror and sadness that consumed her. She had never been faced with the reality of seeing a homeless person firsthand. In the past, I have always attempted to explain to her that we are very fortunate and should not take life for granted, but nothing could have prepared her for what she was seeing at that exact moment.

I stood there frozen, not exactly sure what to do. I felt so terrible for this young man, who looked like such a little child curled up by the fountain. I would have loved to help in any way possible.

Realistically, however, I knew that I would need to keep a little distance since we were in the city and I slightly feared for our safety. As I contemplated what to do, my daughter simply asked, "Where is your family?" She was still engulfed in tears and wanted to ensure that he would be safe from the storm that was about to explode from the sky.

He simply replied, "I don't have a family." My daughter's tears became full wails now and she insisted that he come home with us. I offered the young man the $30 that I had in my pocket, knowing that it was not much, but it was all that I had to give.

I wished that there was something more that I could do, something more that I could say. Was giving money all that I was capable of doing? Was there anything additional that I was able to do to demonstrate to my daughter that those who are fortunate should always be willing to assist those who are not as blessed?

As we continued along our way, my daughter was furious with me. She couldn't believe that I would not offer to bring him home with us and she was absolutely terrified about his safety. Having never been faced with that situation in the past, I too doubted that I had done enough.

Where would he go during the storm? What happened to cause a boy so young to be on the streets? Was there more that I was capable of doing? These questions still haunt me now, even a month later as I ponder what this young boy is doing at this very moment.

Do We Walk Right BY...

And leave this child on the ground

helpless,

cold,

frightened,

hungry,

lonely.

Do We Walk Right By...

Pretending that he does not exist

That his heart does not ache like ours

As he lays there

hurting,

crying,

regretting,

mourning,

grieving.

Do We Walk Right By...

Insisting there is nothing we can do

No difference we can make

Forgetting what we just saw

pretending,

ignoring,

lying,

judging,

rejecting.

How Can We Walk Right By...

And teach our children

That it is okay to be

heartless,

uncaring,

selfish,

insensitive,

unwilling.

We Couldn't Walk Right By...

Still can't forget

Still want to make a difference

In this child's life

And the lives of many others.

We Couldn't Walk Right By...

And are striving now

To continue showing how much we care

in an attempt to

shield,

assist,

support,

encourage,

MOVE MOUNTAINS.

We Couldn't Walk Right By...

Could you?

As I sit here writing, I realize how unbelievably lucky I am. I have a beautiful family and a roof above my head. I am able to put food on the table and do not have to worry about how I will shield my children from the upcoming storm. We have plenty of blankets, clean clothes, and showers. We truly are lucky and I am so thankful for everything that I am blessed with.

It saddens me; however, that with all of the systems that the United States has in place, we continue to see young children, men, and women living on the streets. I hate to have to tell my daughter that there are people who have no other options and must live on the streets.

So, am I truly happy, even though I am so blessed in my life? My answer to that question would have to be no. My heart aches for this young man and I am never going to be the same after that fateful night. I am now determined to make a difference in the lives of others from this point on.

Recently, I began researching Habitat for Humanity and discovered that HUD homes are currently being built for needy families in our area. My daughter and I have signed on to assist with the next project and will soon be making a difference in the lives of needy families like the young man that we saw that day in the park. This program is phenomenal because it provides a new and safe home for families that otherwise would be on the streets. The struggling family that will be receiving the home is assisting us with the construction process, so my daughter and I will both be experiencing the difference that we are making firsthand.

My mission is to demonstrate to my daughter that even though we might not have made a tremendous difference on that particular night, there is still so much more that we are capable of doing. I want to show her that even though one person may not be able to make a tremendous difference in someone's life, a group of individuals can MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Moving Mountains Revision Take 2

Do We Walk Right By...


And leave this child on the ground


Helpless,

Cold,

Frightened,

Hungry,

Lonely.



Do We Walk Right By...


Pretending that he does not exist

That his heart does not ache like ours

As he lays there


Hurting,

Crying,

Regretting,

Mourning,

Grieving.



Do We Walk Right By...


Insisting there is nothing we can do

No difference we can make

Forgetting what we just saw.


Pretending,

Ignoring,

Lying,

Judging,

Rejecting.



How Can We Walk Right By...


And teach our children

That it is okay to be


Heartless,

Uncaring,

Selfish,

Insensitive,

Unwilling.



We Couldn't Walk Right By...


Still can't forget

Still want to make a difference

In this child's life

And the lives of many others.



We Couldn't Walk Right By...


Could You?

Moving Mountains Revision

Classmates,

I was thinking about taking your advice about revising Moving Mountains instead of the Self-Reflection piece. I wrote a poem that I was thinking about adding to Moving Mountains. Please offer any suggestions to make the poem better, where to add the poem, or any other advice you feel would help improve my writing piece. Thank you in advance.


Do we walk right by...


And leave this child lying on the ground

Helpless,

Cold,

Frightened,

Hungry,

Lonely.


Do we walk right by...


Pretending that he does not exist

That his heart does not ache like ours

While he lays there

Hurting,

Crying,

Despairing,

Regretting,

Grieving.


Do we walk right by...


Insisting there is nothing we can do

No difference we can make

Forgetting what we just saw.


Do we walk right by...

Bedtime Routine

Every mother knows that bedtime can be a time that you look forward to and also dread at the same time. When my oldest daughter was little, she used to lie down in bed, belt out a few songs (at the top of her lungs to make sure the entire neighborhood could hear her) and then peacefully drift off to sleep. But, not my son! At the age of two, he had more energy than an entire case of Red Bull!
Every night at bedtime, I gave him a bath, read him a few books, and kissed him goodnight. That’s when he was supposed to close his precious little eyes and drift off to sleep, right? Wrong!

One night, the walls began to shake and the pictures that were hung unsteadily shifted back and forth. I raced in to his bedroom thinking that there must be a fault line directly under his bedroom that had caused an earthquake. Instead, I found him lying in his bed laughing. He thought it was absolutely hilarious to see how hard he had to kick the wall to make the pictures in the living room fall down.

That was just the beginning! That’s when the typical, “Can I have a glass of water?” and “I have to go to the bathroom” excuses began. Now keep in mind, my son was potty training so I did not want to tell him that he could not attempt to go to the bathroom, especially since it was like pulling teeth to get him to pee anywhere except on the neighbor’s fence any other time of the day!

That night, he casually walked to the bathroom, insisted on taking off ALL of his clothes, including his socks, and attempted to pee. I sat on the side of the bathtub, waiting for him to finish for what seemed like an eternity. Just as I was about to doze off, he finally said, “Mom, I’m done! I’m ready to go to sleep now!” Racing in to his bedroom, he pulled the covers up over his naked body. “Ryan,” I exclaimed when I reached his bedroom, “did you wash your hands after going to the bathroom?” “No,” he replied. “I don’t need to! I only held my pee-pee with two fingers!”

Moving Mountains

The music in the background became dull now as we moved further and further away from the concert. My daughter and I had just finished watching a free concert that took place in a beautiful park as a kickoff to summer in the city. Night had fallen and the air was calm, but the crowd was wild! Concertgoers left the park with smiles on their faces and autographs in their pockets. A roar mounted over the area where an anxious crowd was waiting impatiently to catch a glimpse of the country music stars leaving the area.

My daughter was one of the exstatic ones. Still thrilled from the excitement of going to her first concert and also from catching the drumstick that had been thrown from the stage, my daughter’s face was lit up like the morning sun. She could have stayed in the park forever, but as I watched the clouds begin to roll in, I knew it would only be moments before we were caught in the thunderstorm that was headed our way. The entire walk to the car was filled with conversation about how much fun she had and how lucky she was. We were however, about to discover how lucky we truly are.

Our car was parked on the other side a hill, across from the parking lot. As a short cut, we decided to race up and down the hill, attempting to see who could make it to the car first. As we reached the top of the hill, we saw a kid, probably not older than eighteen lying near a fountain, attempting to fall asleep. His head was resting on a backpack, which he was using for a pillow. One thin, blanket was all he had to shield his body from the cold.

Tears instantly filled my daughter’s eyes as I watched horror and sadness consume her. She had never been faced with the reality of seeing a homeless person firsthand. I have always attempted to explain to her that we are very fortunate and we should not take life for granted, but nothing could have prepared her for what she was seeing at that exact moment.

I stood there frozen, not exactly sure what to do. I felt so terrible for this young man, who looked like such a little child curled up by the fountain. I would have loved to help in any way possible. Realistically, however, I knew that I would need to keep a little distance since we were in the city and I slightly feared for our safety. As I contemplated what to do, my daughter simply asked, “Where is your family?” She was still engulfed in tears and wanted to ensure that he would be safe from the storm that was about to explode from the sky.

He simply replied, “I don’t have a family.” My daughter’s tears became full wails now and she insisted that he come home with us. I offered the young man the $30 that I had in my pocket, knowing that it was not much, but it was all that I had to give.

As we continued along our way, my daughter was furious with me. She couldn’t believe that I would not offer to bring him home with us and she was absolutely terrified about his safety. Having never been faced with that situation myself in the past, I too doubted that I had done enough.

Where would he go during the storm? What happened to cause a boy so young to be on the streets? Was there more that I could have done? These questions still haunt me now, even a couple of days later as I ponder what he is doing at this very moment.

It saddens me that with all of the systems that the United States has in place, we still have young children, men, and women living on the streets. I hate to have to tell my daughter that there are people that have no choice but to live on the streets and that for our own safety, we can not take them home with us. I wish there could have been more that I was able to say, more that I was able to do.

As I sit here writing this post, I realize how unbelievably lucky I am. I have a beautiful family and a roof above our heads. I am able to put food on the table and do not have to worry about how I will shield my children from the upcoming storm. We have plenty of blankets, clean clothes and showers. We truly are lucky and I am so thankful for everything that I am blessed with.

But, am I truly happy? My answer to that question would have to be no. My heart aches for this young man and I am never going to be the same after that fateful night. I am determined to make a difference in the lives of others from this point on. My mission is to demonstrate to my daughter that even though we might not have made a tremendous difference on that particular night, there is still so much more that we are capable of doing. I want to show her that even though one person may not be able to make a tremendous difference in someone’s life, a group of people willing to help can move mountains.

Self-Reflection

This is the first blog that I have ever created. Since I am so unfamiliar with it, I have decided to use this first assignment not only as a tool to introduce myself to you, but also as a way to self-reflect.

I have been doing a lot of journaling in the past couple of months. I have recently become a single mother of three (through divorce) and have been writing my feelings in a journal to help guide me on my path to recovery. Some of my journal entries contain thoughts about wanting to return my ex for a refund because the quality of the product was not as great as I was led to believe, while other times, my journal entries are about how blessed my life is.

What I have come to realize is that no matter how much my heart has been broken and how bleak my life has seemed at times, there is always a positive in every situation. My positives are my three wonderful children.

Motherhood has definitely changed me for the better. Don’t get me wrong, life can get extremely interesting and frustrating being a single mother of two girls and a boy, but I wouldn’t change my life for the world. Sometimes at night, I collapse on to the couch and think about my day…the ups and downs, the frustrations and the laughter. Overall, I just think about how lucky I am to be a parent. How thankful I am for everyday that I am blessed to have them in my life, and how even though we all sometimes take things for granted, at that one moment in my day, I really understand how truly blessed I am.

Introducing my first children's book, "My Mommy Loves Me The Best," which is due to be released in September, 2009.

This book is a hysterical, rhyming story demonstrating the unconditional love of a mom.

Each of the children believes mommy loves him or her better than the other siblings. The oldest child can participate in activities that the younger children cannot. The middle child is a "superhero," while the youngest child is incredibly cute and sweet.

Follow these children through their hilarious journey as they discover that even though they all have skills that make them unique, their mother loves them all exactly the same!

Books can be purchased from all major online bookstores (Barnesandnoble.com, Amazon.com, etc.)I will post release date once an exact date is determined.