Monday, July 1, 2013

The Cliff

Financially speaking, being a single Mom is like constantly standing near the edge of a cliff. You can always see the edge but not necessarily the bottom. You're scared to get any closer because you'll fall in (or someone will push you!)

Being an unemployed single mom is falling over the precipice and desperately clinging to the rock, certain you are about to fall. You can see the bottom...and you are sure you are about to hit it.

I came up with this eloquent illustration yesterday as I was waiting for Embree to get out of class. I was an hour early but didn't go anywhere else to save gas. It was HOT and I was tired of waiting. In between reading "Eat, Pray, Love" (again)...I might have been feeling sorry for myself (again).

At about the same time, I caught a glimpse of one of the homeless guys hanging around. There's a bunch of homeless people there on a regular basis. It hit me that if I felt like I was about to fall, this guy already had. He'd hit the bottom. He had no way to scale back up the cliff. Not without help.

I don't know why he's homeless. It could very well be his fault. He could be a drug addict. I'd judge but...I once read a quote that it's hard to be homeless sober and I stopped judging. Stopped wondering if they were going to buy food or alcohol with the $5 I just gave him. I don't have to know "why" because I know he's homeless. One hour of sitting in the heat suddenly gives me insight to his every day.

I know that at four Bree will come out and we will leave. I see the end in sight. There is no end for him. Every day is the same. Just the weather is different. And in Georgia, that's often just too hot or too cold.

I know that I'm never going to hit bottom. That isn't pride. It's fact. There are too many people in this world who love me and my children and are willing to lend a helping hand. Someone will throw me a line and pull me up before I ever land. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for that. These days, that knowledge helps me out of bed every morning. But this guy in the rear view mirror didn't have anyone or he cut the rope.And he isn't a climber. Even if he is, he can't do it alone. He doesn't have the skills or the tools. He needs help. People to teach him to climb, give him the tools and maybe even climb with him. Often, he might need someone to convince him he needs to climb...that there is something for him at the top. When you spend that much time at the bottom, you get used to it.

Everyone can do something. What will you do?

No comments:

Post a Comment