making sense.

I've been in such a funk lately. Actually, more than lately. For awhile.

I know, I know--all blog posts around the web for the past week have been lists of what everyone is thankful for. I'll get to that, sometime. I really will.

And I should be thankful. I mean, I am thankful. Especially with all that I see everyday at work.



Like the woman who came into our office the very day she was going to be evicted, unaware that we provided resources, and moved into a crowded shelter that night.

Or the kids who come to school every day wearing the same uniform they've been wearing all week, with stains and dirt and tears in them. And then again, on Monday, unwashed.

Or the parents who came to pick up turkeys and carrots and onions and potatoes last week, for a Thanksgiving dinner they could give to their families.

Or the families who come in every day asking for clothing for their babies who have nothing but one or two outfits, and no winter coats. Or for sheets and blankets for the beds in their home they just moved into from Puerto Rico. Or for mittens for their kids. Never anything for themselves, just for their kids.

Or the kids who tell me about their lives so matter-of-factly, as if having emotionally abusive, alcoholic fathers and police who come to their house every weekend is a completely normal thing to live with.

Or the parents who teach their kids to fight back, to "never stay hit," to punch back. Because that's what they need to walk down their street alone.




It's so hard to legitimatize the world. I can't justify it in my head. Life's not fair, is it?