The Need Season- 2008

(This is an update of a post I did a few years ago. It seems appropriate to re-run it now. -Sharon GR)

I ran into a neighbor in the grocery recently. She asked, "Thanksgiving shopping?" and commented about how it was better to get this all out of the way now because the stores are packed close to the holiday. I agreed; yes, I was shopping for Thanksgiving, but not for me. I met her in the canned veggies isle. I was stocking up for donations.

Now, we all know times are tough. Gas and oil prices shot way up, the economy tanked and jobs were lost left and right. But somehow, my "tough times" rarely include making a decision of whether to feed my kids or pay the heat bill, which means it ain't so tough for me after all. If I can afford high-speed internet to sit here and talk to you nice people, I can certainly afford to buy extra cans of food for the local food bank. There are kids whose parents do have to make that decision, and they need a bit of help. More this year than ever, even.

It's also good for my kids to help us do this. I ask them to carry the bags in, put cans in the donation boxes, and stock the shelves at the food pantry. I want them to grow up knowing that helping others is a regular part of life. So, the food banks get cans of soup and beans, and I get a nice little parenting moment out of it. We're both winners there.

New Jersey is the best state in the Union. By far. We are one of the richest, most educated groups of people ever assembled. We should also be one of the most generous.

So, I've got a few cans and jars of food in the car to take to the library's food drive. I'm realizing that I need to buy a couple more. Or, more accurately, that someone else needs me to.

"It's the difference between thinking of oneself as an accumulator of objects and material wealth, and imagining oneself as part of the fabric of problems and solutions." - Tata from Poor Impulse Control.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.