Tuesday, January 8, 2008

kids, and other kids.

been having a hard time lately with how spoiled my kids are. we have recently been blessed by getting to know a little bit about a five year old boy in Liberia, and it has again awoken something in me. something i have a hard time understanding, and a hard time explaining. something real, something raw. and i want so badly for my kids to get it, for my husband to get it. but when they look at me and say that it is not fair that they don't get ice cream after dinner, even though they had it last night, or they call me mean because i won't let them watch t.v. after their bedtime, somewhere inside me i want to scream. how can they not get it? how do they not see how absolutely blessed and privileged they are? how rich? i know, they are kids. but somehow i think they of all people should get it. if we could somehow get our kids together with kids in Liberia, or anywhere like that, would they get it then? i don't know. all i know is, i get it. and it is becoming increasingly apparent to me, that not getting it, is a whole lot easier.

3 comments:

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

I get it... my husband and I sometimes joke that we are going to send so-n-so to *Camp Third World.* It's our imaginary 1 week camp where kids have to walk 2 miles to pump their own drinking water and make dinner from whatever they can find growing. We are blessed and sheltered and it can be hard to expose our children to what the rest of the world knows.

Anonymous said...

i get it too - right now Camille is actually screaming that her socks "are wet" and having a toddler type meltdown because the laundry is slightly damp. It is a complete joke...i don't know what to do either

Anonymous said...

AND my kids have ice cream everyday (at the deli) and they think we are mean if we say no to another treat later