Day 131 – It Takes a Village to Raise a Child

My husband wonders why I never have enough time in the day to sit down. It’s an easy answer for many Mothers with small children. Somewhere between cooking, cleaning, shopping, child care, dog walking and in my case, working and volunteering, the hours are gone before I have had a chance to sit for even a minute.

To top it off I have committed to GIVING every day. When an opportunity comes up to GIVE, I seize the opportunity and GIVE it my best.

Day 130: Give 130

There is a famous saying that goes something like this “it takes a village to raise a child.”

I think as parents we forget that mothers work together in a village to support each other and raise their children as a group. Now we rely on nannies, others on day care, play groups, programs and sitters to help raise our kids. What if you couldn’t afford any of those luxuries and you were 17 yrs. old and had decided to raise a child. Who would be your village?

This past week, one of my posts was about this Mother that just had a baby and needed some support. I decided to call in my “village” to see what we could do. While attending my son’s music class, I announced to our group that I was in need of baby cloths and diapers for a young Mother I was supporting. What better group to approach for help than a room full of Mom’s with kids all under the age of 4.

As fast as I moved to the call for help, a very special Mom named Louise, responed. This morning she arrived at my home with 4 large bags filled with infant cloths and diapers. She has two children of her own (under the age of 3) and to find the time to go through her baby cloths she had stored away and get them delivered to my house asap, was a miracle.

She had done her part to get the cloths to me and it was my turn to make sure this new Mom would have the cloths that day.

In comes another helping hand – this new Mom is blessed to have the support of a volunteer doula named Jessica, who is teaching her how to breastfeed and basic care for the infant. I could do a drop at Jessica’s house as she was heading over to see the new Mom later in the day.

There is a reason I am sharing this detailed story.

There were many things I could have done today other than volunteering my time. I am sure for Louise and Jessica also had many other ways they could have filled their time. As my husband would suggest sitting still would be one of those things. But instead we all slept well knowing this new baby is well clothed and dry.

The part that amazed me the most about these las few days were the number of hands that participated to get a new Mother and her child what they needed. It started with one email to me from miracle worker and founder of Spectrum, Sally Livingstone asking for help, another Mom (Caroline) that donated a crib via the Craigslist, another with cloths and diapers, another with expertise in breast feeding and care and me – the person that wasn’t afraid to ask for help from the village.

I offered a quote at the beginning of this GIVE, “it takes a village to raise a child.” That hasn’t changed. There are so many Mom’s that need help and are afraid to ask for it. If you are one of these Mom’s, open your heart and your life to let the village in to help, we will come running.

Time Commitment: 45 minutes

Cost: 0

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Together we can change the world one day at a time.