this isn't adoption related, per se, but it does attest to the preciousness of each child, despite their circumstance, geography, home-life, and ability to give back (or their parent's ability to give back).
there are a lot of complaints, blogs, facebook posts, and articles written about the absurdity of classroom supply list: parents bemoaning the list of 70 glue sticks, the infinity amount of pencils, enough kleenex boxes to wipe every elephant in india's nose, and enough hand sanitizer to disinfect chernobyl.
i don't have issue with it. i will gladly buy those with a smile on my face and tell my children what a wonderful thing it is to be able to provide extra for their classroom. (and no we don't easily have the extra money, we will make sacrifices to do it).
i will tell them how hard their teachers work, how they are not paid as they deserve, and how the simple act of buying kleenexes relieves a need for their classroom.
i will tell them what an honor it is to be able to buy extra pencils for the friend in their class who doesn't have any.
***side note: i wonder how many people who have shared this little poem above also complain about having to buy extra pencils.
i've seen complaints: "there are churches that provide backpacks full of supplies, why don't they just go there? too lazy? not my fault".
-but, here's the thing. that attitude punishes no one except the child--the student in need. maybe the struggling mother feels like she doesn't deserve a backpack for her child from a church. maybe she's angry with the church (rightfully so with some of these "i'm not buying that" attitudes") and would rather hope she finds the money eventually, maybe they really just don't care--BUT that doesn't mean the child doesn't care. they have no choice in the matter. that doesn't mean the teachers don't stress over their students who never have a pencil, paper, or glue sticks.
why do we sing our teacher's praises but let our pride consume us and deter us from buying simple extra things like pencils, paper, and glue sticks; knowing full well if we don't, the responsibility will come back on the teacher.
with a smile on my face and joy beating from my heart, i will buy all the pencils, glue sticks, and kleenex boxes (and forego starbucks for two days) and tell my children, who are students too, what a joy it is to be able to give these extras to their teacher. i will tell them what value each child in their classroom has, what value THEY have, and how sometimes a simple act of buying an extra box of pencils can attest and reaffirm another's value.
i will tell my children that these bags we carry out that are 10x what i needed as a student represent something bigger--it represents us carrying each other's burdens, it represents us doing a little thing to make a big proclamation to another child, another teacher that WE CARE.
it's not about if "we should have to", it's about if we see the value--the value in those children, those students whose parents can't or won't, those teachers to come alongside and lift the burden.
in life, it's not about us. it's not supposed to be. <3
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