barbies
i stood at the front door, barbie living room furniture set in hand, waiting for the door to open. immediately an eager group of smiling faces greeted me. jamyra hung back, at least until i called to her and wished her a happy birthday. she's so beautifully fragile, it makes me want to cry when i look at her.
her brothers and sister gathered around as she read the card and opened her gift. they could hardly wait to let her pull the toys out of the box. i watched them explore every tiny piece. everything was 'awesome' or 'so pretty'.
then i felt terrible. 'mom gets paid on friday, so that's when we're celebrating our birthday'. (jamyra has a twin brother, jamal.) i, the snotty, self-righteous college kid, upstaged their incredibly hard working mother. the woman who is raising four kids, going to nursing school and will be at work until one this morning. she signed all of her children up for big brothers big sisters to make sure that they all get enough attention. it's not at all her fault that she couldn't buy toys for the kids today.
what's worse is the fact that all those kids really would've wanted was my company. jamyra's sister took a pair of scissors and mutilated the box the toy set came in. i know she did it largely for attention, but the aggression she showed was really upsetting. i've seen the same thing in one of my little cousins who's had a very traumatic life. i just wanted to hug her and ask what she's so angry about. but that'll have to come later.
then there was jamyra's older brother. we talked while jamyra set everything up in her room. he told be about his behavior disorder, being sent to 'juvie' and hitting kids at school. there was so much frustration in his words and face. it just breaks my heart to see a child that young with such adult emotions. he's really a sweet kid, it's just that something is missing inside him.
when i left i had to give each of them a hug. even jamal, who was pretty silent during my visit, followed me to the door and asked for a kiss. it's funny how universal the need for physical contact is, especially amongst kids. all that most people really want is someone to give them a good hug and to listen to what they have to say. and i look forward to doing a lot more of that with these kids.
her brothers and sister gathered around as she read the card and opened her gift. they could hardly wait to let her pull the toys out of the box. i watched them explore every tiny piece. everything was 'awesome' or 'so pretty'.
then i felt terrible. 'mom gets paid on friday, so that's when we're celebrating our birthday'. (jamyra has a twin brother, jamal.) i, the snotty, self-righteous college kid, upstaged their incredibly hard working mother. the woman who is raising four kids, going to nursing school and will be at work until one this morning. she signed all of her children up for big brothers big sisters to make sure that they all get enough attention. it's not at all her fault that she couldn't buy toys for the kids today.
what's worse is the fact that all those kids really would've wanted was my company. jamyra's sister took a pair of scissors and mutilated the box the toy set came in. i know she did it largely for attention, but the aggression she showed was really upsetting. i've seen the same thing in one of my little cousins who's had a very traumatic life. i just wanted to hug her and ask what she's so angry about. but that'll have to come later.
then there was jamyra's older brother. we talked while jamyra set everything up in her room. he told be about his behavior disorder, being sent to 'juvie' and hitting kids at school. there was so much frustration in his words and face. it just breaks my heart to see a child that young with such adult emotions. he's really a sweet kid, it's just that something is missing inside him.
when i left i had to give each of them a hug. even jamal, who was pretty silent during my visit, followed me to the door and asked for a kiss. it's funny how universal the need for physical contact is, especially amongst kids. all that most people really want is someone to give them a good hug and to listen to what they have to say. and i look forward to doing a lot more of that with these kids.
1 Comments:
just take heart in the fact that very few in the community are willing to go the extra mile to make this world a better place. you've just got to endure the occasional backfire a little, even though, in the long run it's no big deal.
By
regan, at 10:02 PM
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