We received a different kind of Christmas catalogue in the mail the other day and the girls wanted to flip through and learn all about it.
It wasn’t filled with toys, whimsical Christmas sweaters or Swarovski crystal swans.
It was a catalogue showing all of us how we can help another family that is less fortunate.
We talked to the girls about donating money or supplies or in some instances, farm animals.
Chloe was quick to ask for a pig for Christmas.
We also talked about how educating people and giving them the tools and training they need to become self-sustaining is also incredibly helpful.
The girls ran off to bathe and about ten minutes later, I heard a yelp and then a series of high pitched moans reminiscent of the time two raccoons fought and then threw themselves off of our roof in a suicide pact.
I ran down the hall to see who was screaming, expecting to see a lot of blood or a broken shower door or someone’s newly shaved head and my five year old holding a razor.
It was Ellie, my 8 year old and she was beside herself.
Shouting, “Mom, there is NO hot water!”
I reached in to feel the water coming out of the shower head. The steam fogged up my face, my hair scrunched into a scouring pad and I burned myself on the steady stream interrupting Ellie’s cries.
“What do you mean there’s no hot water?”
I wondered if this was an improvised scene being acted out given we had just talked about the families in the catalogue who weren’t at home enjoying the luxuries of pumice stones and Pantene.
“This isn’t even hot at all! I can’t even wash my hair in it! It’s cold!”
Nope. This was no act. The people in the catalogue were bathing in dirty puddles and didn’t have enough food to eat and my kid was ready to crumble to the ground because her bath water had gone from clean-and-scalding to clean-and-regular-hot.
I handed her a thick, Egyptian cotton towel, freshly laundered and smelling of lavender and we had a little chat about how lucky we are to have all of these luxuries that a large part of the world simply doesn’t have.
Chloe asked for a pig three more times.
