Having it All

A few facts; I grew up really poor, as a child I moved around a lot and I’m very lucky/grateful that I have the education I have. Now that those tidbits are out of the way I can get on with this post!

Irelyn participates in a Co Op Preschool. The school functions through parent volunteerism. The only paid employees are two teachers. Everything from accounting, to budgets, event planning and making play-doh is done through volunteers. I love the school model and I love the entire environment. As a working mom I am unable to volunteer as one of the parents in the classroom and my responsibility instead is to serve as my school’s representative to the county council of co op preschools.

Last night we had our monthly meeting and I drove 30 miles away to a school in South County. If you are familiar with Orange County demographics, then you’re aware that South County = Affluence. The topic of the evening was fundraising. Each representative shared what their school does to raise much needed funds. The big fundraiser for each school tends to be a live/silent auction of some variety. One of the schools shared that they raised $30,000 at their auction (gasp!) and that a play date with one of the teachers auctions off for about $1,000 (double gasp!). As I drove home I kept thinking about all of these details…and somehow a delayed light bulb went off in my head.

My children won’t grow up in the world I did.

Yes, everybody wants their children to live in a better world then them, every parent wants their kid to have opportunities they didn’t have. I get that, and I totally agree, but in that moment last night while I drove on the freeway, I wanted to shield my children from this world of enough, of “seemed privilege.” If life continues as it is, then there will likely not be a day that my girls go to bed worrying about where their next meal come from or if mama and daddy can keep a roof over their head. I’m INCREDIBLY grateful that I have what I have…but with it comes a new, different challenge, a challenge I never conceptualized or previously thought of before. I look at the world around me and I don’t take an ounce of it for granted. I know what its like to have nothing…and without having my children go through what I did, how do I give them that appreciation? How do I let them know that $1,000 play dates with their teachers aren’t the norm?

I’ve always sought to raise socially conscious aware children….if you’re my friend then you’ve probably heard me go on and on about this topic a few times…this isn’t a new topic for me, but the $1,000 auctioned play date just hit a nerve and maybe I just realized (again) how overwhelming being a parent is sometimes. I want the best for my girls…and in giving them the best I don’t want them to not appreciate the worst.

Sigh…lots of mumbo jumbo babble and its LATE!