It is Tuesday and time to write a 'Slice of Life."
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I feel great. Yes, I feel fine. Yes!
Each morning for the past couple of days, I wake up and instinctively check for how I am feeling. January has arrived with Covid racing through our family. First, it was the grandkids, who we had just babysat for two days straight. Then, everyone else has been getting sick, one-by-one, in rapid procession, testing positive for Covid. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven of us, so far? Knock on wood, I have escaped. Nevertheless, all plans have been canceled. Tony (not so lucky, enduring his second bout of this virus) and I have been having a very low-key time, taking it easy – working on a puzzle, watching television, and reading books. I’ve made a couple different homemade soups.
I just finished reading the memoir Class by Stephanie Land, a holiday gift from my son. Ms. Land shares the story of her struggles to get a writing degree as a poor and single mother. Throughout the book, I was on edge for her young daughter, growing up in such challenging circumstances. I have been stewing over this quote –
“Resilience as a virtue is assigned, especially to marginalized groups, when systemic structures have created countless barriers to living what the privileged consider a normal life.”
Stephanie Land , Class, pgs. 67-68
It is unusually cold here today, and expected to get colder. We have snow for the first time in a couple of years. My biggest challenge is willing myself to leave the proximity of my quilt and space heater in order to get another cup of hot tea. I am struck by the ease of Covid for me, for our family – and what an absolute crisis this virus or any health issue becomes for the poor.
If I were a single mom right now, with young children, without family around to help, with only hourly-wage work that offers no benefits, struggling to pay bills, unable to take time off, already in debt… holy smoke, this would be insufferable.
On our car trip to Georgia over winter break, we dashed into a fast food restaurant to use the bathroom. I noticed a young child, maybe three or four years old, in a booth by herself in the back corner, with coloring books and crayons; the child had a deep cough. “Mom” was an employee behind the counter; she rushed over to check on her child when there were no customers in the queue.
It is beyond appalling that our great country has no safety net in place (or only a very broken, torn, ripped safety net) for those who need it. The child poverty rate is nearly 15% in America. This is outrageous. This is appalling. This is criminal.
Did you read that many states are turning down food assistance for poor children during the summer months? As the Center for American Progress writes – Poverty is a policy choice. Here are their 12 solutions to eradicate poverty in America.
The world now has the means to end extreme poverty, we pray we will have the will. (Source: Rev. Barbara Crafton, “The Counting Prayer”)
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