A helping hand

On Christmas Eve day we took all those toys that were given to us on my birthday to donate to children for Christmas. It was an enlightened experience to say the least. We traveled to Trindade, Brazil early that morning and arrived at this very nice spiritual center that my wife was recommended to help. A very organized event that this center has been doing for the local community for the past 15 years. The first hour or so was spent listening to music, praying and a briefing on what to expect in the neighborhoods we would be going to. A simple do's and don'ts in the neighborhood and how much time we would stay at each house.

There was a lot of hustle and bustle among all the organizers finishing up last minute preparations for the kids arrival at the center. A requirement for the help they receive from the center is to attend events and I believe there is also some education involved. I don't think its too much to ask from these people and it seems that religion is not a huge part of it. Mainly getting these families out of the neighborhoods and providing a safe place they can go to. Each of these children wrote a letter asking for specific items. These items ranged from a bicycle to a toy car. All the normal things a boy and girl would ask for on their birthday and Christmas. The family also receives a huge bag of food. Items include: rice, chicken, cooking oil, snacks, etc. A great deal of food that will last them a few days.

One of the workers directed us to a room where they had all the toys organized by family. A lot of work went into getting these items and having them ready for when the kids arrived to give them. The bus finally pulled up and all the happy kids departed the bus. They were greeted with singing and hugs from the organizers. What an experience for these kids! The kids were fed breakfast and were playing in the courtyard until it was time to go. The gifts were arranged in big bags and the kids were to open them at home. Us volunteers were sent out to wait by our cars to transport the kids home. I believe there was about 36 cars involved in this mass transit. As the kids walked out into the parking lot, they were yelling to their friends "Did you get what you wanted?" and "Yes, did you?" The excitement was wonderful and these kids were having a blast.

We ended up being the extra car transporting one of the center's organizers, extra food and the massive amount of toys that we brought with us. Since the kids had already asked for specific stuff, our toys were backup and we donated the rest after we were done. The line of cars driving to this neighborhood on the outskirts of town was impressive. Once in the neighborhood we split up into groups and started going door to door.

The first house was a small boy and girl who got a toy truck and bicycle. A very simple little home and the mother was pressure cooking beans. They smelled delicious. Each house was small talk, praising the kids on their new toys and a quick prayer. We also gave that huge bag of food to them. The next house was a little different with a small boy and a pregnant teenager. Very nice people and our children got to see a chicken lay an egg. There was two chickens tied together and you could tell that this was going to be their dinner that night. The next place we visited was the center's small outreach house in the neighborhood. Its a place for the kids to come and play. We then went back to the center to pick up more toys and returned to deliver 3 bicycles to three kids. What an amazing experience!

The work this center does is amazing! It was sad to see the families in the neighborhood that didn't receive anything, but they were not willing to do their part by attending the spiritual center. One neighbor actually called my wife over and asked for a bag of food. The rules were clear on who got the food, but my kind hearted wife gave one of our toys to a very small child in that house. You can't help them all and these people have the same opportunity to start attending the spiritual center. This is a very poor community and there is definitely drugs in the neighborhood. I can also assume that there is also some very bad people that live here too.

In this whole experience I have realized that I am very grateful for what I have. The experience my kids got from doing this is also a great thing. Letting them see how good they have it and to see that not everyone lives like we do. A lot of parents shelter their children from the bad parts of life and I think it's better to expose them to it. Let them know that their is people suffering out there and to help when able. Not entirely a handout but a helping hand.



            

Gifts for kids

When my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year, I told her to have my guest bring a gift for a needy child. I had been to a birthday party earlier this year for my wife’s uncle and he did the same thing. It’s a great way to give back and make the children feel special this time of the year. There is a lot of poverty here and it’s not the child’s fault. They were born into poverty, so sad. It’s also a great way for our children to see how great their lives are and we should be very thankful. My mother in-law also did the same thing and added to my huge pile of gifts that we are going to donate.

So keep this in mind for your next birthday and give it a shot!    

Kids School

Since we moved to Brazil, I have taken on the role as Mr. Mom. It’s been challenging for a guy who spent the last 20 plus years working a hectic job of odd hours and long trips away from home. This caring and feeding of kids was never a full-time job for me. Now don’t get me wrong, I am loving it! The boys have done a total reverse and are more attached to me now. Before it was always the fall and get hurt yell for Mommy, now its Daddy. Sometimes I get busy and think “oh crap, did I feed the kids lately.” Usually I have or I ask if they are hungry and they already got a snack. They are at an age where they can help themselves, which is a good thing.

Currently I am Mr. Mom, full time student completing my MBA on-line (teach yourself), teach English to about 5 clients and complete most of the chores around the house. Yeah, I know most of my friends think I’m living the life of luxury and don’t do much, but I can say my days are jammed packed. Currently I have a load of laundry in…specifically the pants and other types of shorts. I’m positive there is probably another name for the classification of these types of cloths, but I don’t know what to call it. I break it down like this: Pants & shorts, shirts, underwear & sock, kids school uniforms, delicate stuff and towels. The only white stuff is usually kids uniforms which wash by themselves. Well anyways that’s some of the crap I’m doing today and I’m not very good at it. They smell good in the end and some of the stains come out.

Sometimes I miss a few things and I will tell a short story about what I missed this morning. Like every Monday – Friday morning I am up at 0630 to get kids to school by 0735. Yes, that early, but they get off at 1200 to come home. A little different then the full days like American kids do. Dressed, breakfast, the scramble to get to school at a decent time. As we are walking in I see the sign up for end of year parent teacher conferences. A highly valued get signed up now before it fills up and I can’t align the times so both kids will have their meetings close to the same time. I sent the kids on their way to the classrooms while I heroically jumped into the mix of crazy moms to get my coveted spots.

Yes, I am the only everyday drop and pick up the kid’s dad. Some of the other dads do it a few times a week but not every day. I know, that I’m not that good at seeing upcoming events and planning for stuff that a mom would realize. After my victory of getting great times for the parent teacher conferences, I head over to the outdoor area where they do events at the school. I knew my youngest kid had been practicing singing each day for the past few weeks and this was the day to sing for us parents. He told me every day that his teacher was mean for making him sing and he hated it. Complained he would get thirsty and she always was making him sing louder. I thought it was funny!

Well as I am sitting front row seat, a victory! I get a call from my wife…not happy wife. She says, “teacher just called and is very mad that our son doesn’t have a monkey costume on.” Well the costume part was a complete surprise to me. “it was in his journal to have a costume for today.” I didn’t see a memo to have one, sorry. “well fix it or go explain to him why he can’t sing this morning.” As you can see from this conversation, I am in big trouble and it’s not a possibility to have a monkey costume in 10 minutes. I could make him into an army dude or burglar by getting some grease from the car engine and rubbing it on his face. Not an option though, its toxic and wouldn’t go with the animal theme the teacher was going for.

I get up from my prized seat and head to the classroom, as I walk in he is facing away from me. I’m not sure what to expect when I kneel beside him. I say “hey buddy I’m really sorry, I didn’t know about the monkey costume.” He is not upset at all but says “does this mean I don’t have to sing?’’ Right then and there I knew this was a good thing. I told him I missed it in the journal that I sometimes look at and then tell him he can come home for the day. He practically danced his way to the car and was so happy not to have to sing those horrible songs.

I feel bad that I missed this and he didn’t get the experience to sing in front of the school. I plan to pay more attention and not get caught up in the other stuff I got going on. In the end, I realized that it ended up good! He was happy to not sing, skip school, poop at home, play on his I-Pad, etc. I got the best times for parent teacher conference, had front row seat (which is rare) and got to spend time with the youngest while I did the laundry this morning and he talked to me while he pooped. It’s hard to hold an I-Pad at that time and he makes that the dad let’s talk time.

Thanks for reading,

A very happy and grateful Daddy