Stressed but Blessed

Yeah, that sort of tells how I feel today. The house is not having anyone interested in. Paying 2 households is hard. Really it is three this summer since I have been paying rent for Eric, even though it is not much.

Eric is going to stay in Seattle for a couple of extra days. That is going to cost some. He will stay in a hostel, but still not free. He wants to go Kayaking. He hasn't worked all summer. He has been really good about money. I put in about 50 a week for him and then a little extra when he needs tires, etc.

I guess it just is all feeling like it is hitting at one time.

But I know we have it so much better than many others. I saw that again today. JoyAnna and I volunteered at the Assistance League today. They have operation School Bell. They clothe and provide school supplies for 3400 low income children in the city of El Paso. They really do it up right. Each child gets uniforms- 3 pairs of pants and 3 polos. They get new shoes, 7 pairs of socks, 6 underwear, and a jacket. I think they get a t-shirt and jeans too. They all get backpacks with schools supplies.

We tagged and boxed uniform pants and polos first off this morning. Then the shoes arrived. JoyAnna said 10,000 pairs. I am not sure how many pairs, but lots and lots. Rooms full of shoes. We had to take them out of the boxes, pull all the paper out, tie the shoes together and tag them with the size- then we stocked the shelves and the remainder went into marked boxes. JoyAnna and her friends Nicole and Tati worked so hard. They hauled all the empty shoe boxes out, they hauled boxes in to us, they hauled packed boxes to the basement to store them. I bet she sleeps really well, but she was eager to go back tomorrow.

She will be going back often, I think. She wants to go back and help with the clothing distribution. She can't really help with the clothes trying on, but she can help them get socks and entertain them til their turn. She'll like that.

So, even though I am stressed by how much we are strapped financially, I know how truly blessed we are.