I am flawed in just about every way imaginable, but I live.  And like many, there are life experiences that I have had and am guaranteed to continue to have, that encourage me to embrace who I am. 

We just finished up a holiday event for our homeless community with The Salvation Army that they and Stacie did an incredible job orchestrating.  I was volunteering in the kitchen drying dishes and walked out where the event was happening to put the dishes away.  I saw a dad with his two young children.  It immediately took me back six and a half years when I was pregnant with my oldest child.  When the stock market tanked and financial stability no longer existed for a good portion of us, I was in a position where the idea of homelessness was very real.  I was barely able to provide for myself.  Seeing that family made me remember how everything felt.  Food was nowhere near abundant and being pregnant I felt ashamed of that.  The cold was different than any cold I had felt before.  When I was warm in the most basic conditions; I was safe.  I was pregnant and safe.  If the father of my children weren’t the man that he is, then I may have very well been homeless for an indefinite period of time.  There is a strength, resilience and relentlessness that you gain when you climb your way out that absolutely no one can touch.  I am so fortunate to have two resilient, relentless, vibrant daughters, who teach and guide me in love; every day. 

After those memories resurfaced and the event finished, I decided to write about not only my experience but educate you as well on some of the things tied to my experience that affect our lives here.  The city will not permit the Salvation Army to prepare food in the kitchen unless a service/meeting is held in conjunction.  The only time it is permitted without is on Thanksgiving and this is per the Salvation Army via phone.  There are certain individuals who want to shut down Valley Re-Start.  These are two organizations that I would have been immensely grateful for in the event I needed them.  These people who deter, prevent and want to rid the city of such services truly could have never been in a position such as mine or the peoples’ we served tonight.  Those certain individuals do not want the homeless here in our town…  Here is the reality check: They are here as am I.