Today after me and my two youngest (4 & 16 months) watched Tinkerbell and The Great Fairy Rescue we got ready to actually leave the house. It's Tuesday; which means that it is Happy Meal Day and family movie night. It's Happy Meal Day because they are only $1.99 every Tuesday and it's family movie night because this is the day that we started getting movies from the Redbox or Blockbuster machine.
After finally getting both kids completely dressed and doing my daughter's hair we got in the car, pulled out of the driveway, and proceeded to head towards McDonald's. Today I decided to go to the McDonald's on the other side of town because it was close to Lake Ella. The original plan was to get the Happy Meals and go sit in the grass next to the lake and have a picnic. As we were going through the drive-thru my son decided he wanted to go on the playground. At this point we had already ordered and paid for the food. So we picked up our food, parked, and went inside.
As we sat down I noticed there was a young man who appeared to be a young college student. He was outside putting something on his bike when we walked in then he came inside. He went outside a couple of times to his bike to pick up something and bring something back inside. One time when he came inside he walked in with a bunch of old pieces of cardboard. I noticed that he had a big duffle bag and a lot of other items on his bike. While inside I saw that all he had was some coffee; which isn't unusual when it's chilly but I just felt as if there was something not quite right. Eventually I went to the counter and ordered 2 more Happy Meals (one for me and one I was going to give away). Before just handing the young man the food I asked him if he needed something to eat and he said he was a little hungry so I gave him one of the Happy Meals I just ordered.
He was a very young man. He looked like he could have been a senior in high school or at least in his first few years of college. There is no telling what his background was or how he ended up where he was. It wasn't my place to ask. And I felt bad for not being able to give him a little bit more. I almost felt sad in a way because it made me think about how much I complain when I don't have something or when I need something when I actually am blessed with more than any person could possibly need. I have a loving husband, three beautiful & healthy children, a roof over my head, food on the table, family & friends, and so much more. But here this young man was in need of something so basic as food; something no person should be without. There are so many people in this world who are in need of basic life necessities. And what are we doing about it? What are we doing to make strides in the fight against hunger & homelessness? What are we doing for those who just want something, anything to eat? What are we doing for those who want somewhere, anywhere safe, to sleep? I can only speak for myself and unfortunately I am not doing all that I can. I don't have a lot of money, but it doesn't take a lot of money to make a difference. You can make a difference by volunteering and motivating others to get involved. I challenge every one out there to volunteer at a homeless shelter. Put together a food drive. Gather some friends and serve lunch at a soup kitchen. It may not seem like much, but it's the little things that count. And when you add up all of the small deeds that people can and should do then maybe we can make a dent in the war on poverty, hunger, & homelessness and start to leave the world better off than it was before.
