Angels & life lessons

This was last Saturday! Then why did it take so long to post?? Because, I was a bad mom & forgot my camera - but luckily my phone has one. Lauren (in the back of the Photo with Mira) and a group of girls from her gymnastics team went to Macy's to see about picking some kids off the Angel Tree. Turns out they didn't really have a "tree" but they were in need of many things. They asked for clothes in all sizes, especially coats, socks & underwear! The woman running the donation table did a great job of explaining to the girls how so many children go to school each day without socks & underwear...amongst other things.

Not sure if I've mentioned before, but one of the fundraisers for the gym is working concessions at the U of U basketball & football games. We used to also work the Real Salt Lake soccer games before they moved to their own stadium back in October. This raises money which allows the Booster Club to host Holiday & Summer BBQ's, as well as help pay for part of the team costs for competitions. (Gymnastics is NOT an cheap sport! Some of the Elite gymnasts who make it to Regional and National finals spend well over $10,000 each year to compete.) The Booster Club saves all the tips from when we work the concessions for charity and this year elected to use it for Angel Tree gifts :) YAY! We had about $700 to spend! WOWSERS!

We met at Macy's in Southtowne Mall at around 12:30 on Saturday. After getting our list of needs, we agreed our funds would go farther at Target, so we caravan-ed over there. Once arriving at Target, we all split into groups to be able to cover each age group for girls & boys. Lauren was with 3 other high school girls and they chose to shop for babies (boys & girls), while Mira & I went with 2 other girls & their families to shop for boys from 4-16. Others covered girls 4-16, toys and stocking stuffers.

When we got to the checkstand with all 3 carts, the young man who checked us out was flabbergasted with all we were purchasing. His eyes got big & he asked "Is this ALL together?!?" He said it was the single biggest order he'd ever rung up.

So, then we had to take everything back over to Macy's to donate. I really thought the two women at the Angel Tree table were going to cry when they saw everything we had. They were overjoyed and were so sweet to the girls in letting them know what a wonderful thing they were doing. This was a GREAT experience for the girls to spend their hard earned tips doing something for others, especially kids. This time of year is so difficult for everyone and it's an important lesson given the focus on commercialism around Christmastime. Kids can get so caught up in what they DON'T have, instead of appreciating what they DO have! That's why I brought Mira along with us...which brings up my next SORE subject!

The other morning as she was supposed to be getting ready for school, she was groaning about having to make her own lunch. Since I've been home with the kids (since last February) it was a family decision that the girls would take their lunch to school. We had to come up with a family budget & all made sacrifices to help the cause. ANYWAY, after complaining about not being able to just BUY her lunch, she started in with the usual "I have NOTHING to wear" speech. I had worked the night before and she wanted to wear a certain pair of sweats, again, so she did a load of laundry. When she went to the dryer the other morning and came out with the same sweats on for the second day in a row, I had enough. As a parent, we all know how tough it is to keep all the kids in nice clothes, right? So, to show her that she really DOES have lots of nice clothes (2 dressers full), we emptied the contents onto her bedroom floor.

Have you ever seen a child with THIS many clothes?? Some even still have tags! And she wants to wear the same 3 outfits over & over. So, that's what she'll get, well, almost. After the Angel Tree day and the experience fresh in her mind, it seemed appropriate to continue giving to others. We went from two dressers down to one! And the rest....going to Deseret Industries...at least maybe they'll get worn by some 10 year old, if not mine. Hopefully she'll realize how truly blessed we are and be more appreciative of what we are able to provide. There's quote I heard once that kind of reminds me of this situation...."we may not have it all together, but together we have it all."

Not sure what it is about this time of year, but I get hyper-sensitive when my children are selfish and behave in ways that they KNOW they shouldn't. While we do all we can to teach them well, they don't always learn the lessons right away. Hopefully I was able to get my point across and do something to help others at the same time. Can't beat spring cleaning in December, huh?!?