Baby, It's Cold Outside

As I sit her typing this, I'm relishing the fact that we warmed up to a balmy 37 degrees today. It meant that we didn't get much snow, but that will probably be coming tonight as we sleep. At times like these, I am able to sit in the warmth and comfort of my home, sipping coffee or cocoa and bundling up. It allows me to appreciate the beauty of the landscape outside when the wind is whipping the trees and everything is dusted white. I worry about those who live their entire lives outside, though. While I'm dreaming of sledding, they are worried about their very lives, and trying desperately to find a way to keep warm. We have several emergency shelters opening in the area, and I am grateful for that.

I remember last year during our winter storm that caused so much horrible flooding, I panicked at the thought of people being unable to stay warm or even dry! I knew a few of the areas where homeless camps were located, so I went out and bought lots of blankets, tarps, gloves, hats, and those little hand-warmer bags that you can tuck in your pockets. I was on a mission. Until I told my husband. The cop. He forbade me to traipse into the woods alone, but I was determined to get those things to people who could use them. In the end, we agreed that the best thing was to take them down to the Salvation Army so the Major there could hand them out the people he knew could use them most during the free luch hour. So, that's what I did. And I don't CARE why those folks were living in the woods. I know that many of them live lives of crime that dumped them on the streets, but I don't care. Not all of them are criminals. Some of them have mental illnesses that prevent them from functioning in normal society, and they don't have loved ones to take care of them. Some of them probably found themselves unemployed, got behind on their bills, lost everything, and haven't been able to come back from that. When you think about it, that could so easily happen to any of us. In our current economy, we will probably see more of it. Anyway, it angers me when people do nothing to help because they think it's more important to place blame than to give a hand. Why does it matter? They are still God's children just like you and me that hit some hard luck somewhere, and they deserve to know kindness.

I guess you could say I'm on my soapbox tonight. I'm saying a prayer that those who need it will find their way to our shelters and get some food and a warm bed tonight. Let us all remember there is goodness left in the world.