Hum....

It's been kindof a thoughtful day....I have a sweet little gal in my class who is new this year. I got a letter in my box today from her former teacher at her old school. I innocently grabbed the letter and walked down the hallway with my stack of stuff from my box...usually "junk mail"-catalogues, book orders, flyers, etc. The letter was on top. I casually started to read it on my walk back to my room. That's when it stopped me dead in my tracks and just made my heart hurt and my breath stop. The teacher said that this girl comes with a lot of "very sad baggage" and went on to explain what her 8 year old past has been like. Wow. This girl has seen and endured things that most of us as grown adults have never and will never see. I say endured, but has she really? I don't know. I mean, sure, she's alive and functions just fine. She's adorable, sweet, helpful, and kind. But I wonder what she is really thinking about as we discuss standard and expanded form in math. I wonder what her mind trails off thinking about while she reads an innocent Clifford book. It just overwhelms my naive mind what some people have to go through. And she's ONLY EIGHT YEARS OLD. That is just so not right in my mind. So unfair. When I was eight, I remember my parents reading me a story at night, both parents, in a peaceful, clean, and happy home, and going to bed at 9 in my nice, safe, warm bed all tucked in. I'm unsure of how often that really happens anymore for many of our children.

Then, as my heart was broken for this poor sweet thing, I turned on Oprah. Did anyone else see Oprah today?! I was so deeply saddened and sickened that I had to just turn it off. It was about the sexual exploitation of children on the internet. And I'm usually a fan of Oprah, but today I just couldn't take it. Maybe it had to be said to open up our naive eyes a little, but I just couldn't handle the graphic explanations she had. Maybe it did some good though, because I was inspired to do something I've never done...write to the senator regarding the PROTECT our Children Act. Below is some info about this, that I copied from Oprah's website (I don't think she'd mind! :) )

The PROTECT Our Children Act will:

• Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
• Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
• Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

Act Now!
Your U.S. senators will be voting on the bill soon, so it is crucial you contact them immediately.
Go to www.senate.gov to find contact information for the senators in your state. Search for your senator by name or state by clicking on the arrow from either dropdown menu. Contact information is provided here. To send an e-mail, click on "Web Form" below his or her name, and e-mail your letter to make a difference!

Anyway, I think the next time I am grumpy because I don't have a diet coke, or my shoe is giving me a blister, or my laundry isn't quite dry, or any other little thing...I'll remember how trivial and petty these things are compared to the reality of some of these young little sweet lives and how much more they have ahead of them.