Let's Talk About Words

      Norman Cousins said, "The individual is capable of both great compassion and great indifference." When I started volunteering at WINGS years ago, I attended a two hour training to understand the women and children staying in the home that I would be volunteering at. As I saw the slide show and listened to the woman speak, I realized that if it had not been for my mother's help, I could have found myself homeless and without a job when I got divorced in 2001. Even though I had a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, I had not worked in 9 years plus my daughters were only 5, 7 and 9 at the time. I had no money saved and received very little child support. I learned that these women were not on drugs or trying to get free food and shelter. They did not have anyone to help them watch their children; they did not have the money to buy a car to be able to drive to a job. It was a vicious cycle of lacking causing more lacking. In a world where we hear story after story ...

     Calvin Coolidge said, "No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave." Even though we moved to Barrington, when I first got divorced, we had very little money. I struggled to fit in and to help my daughters understand that even though they felt poor in a privileged community, we had a lot more than many others. Through my work, I found a woman's shelter that my daughters and I could volunteer at. Even though they were not even teenagers, they attended a two hour training so that they were prepared to supervise and play with the children living in this shelter as their mothers attende d meetings on site. This was one of the most important  gifts  that I could have given to my children. In addition to realizing how lucky and privileged we really were, we also loved giving of ourselves and our time to help others in need. Now years later, even though I still would like to make the time to volunteer more often,...