ittakesavillage Archives - The Dose of Reality

Operation Christmas Child

Posted on November 17, 2014 by The Dose of Reality

As mothers, we feel especially called to teaching our children about philanthropy and giving back. We consider our children very fortunate to have more than they need and certainly plenty of what they want.

When we were presented with the opportunity to participate in a campaign to raise awareness for Operation Christmas Child, there was no question we were saying yes. Since 1993 over 100 million children worldwide have received boxes thanks to this amazing organization. We have actually packed boxes in both of our families for many years, so our kids were ready to dive right in and help to do their part!

OCCBlog2 We decided to use shoebox sized plastic bins instead of actual shoeboxes for the gifts, because they last longer. Once we’d found the perfect size, we got to work filling them up. Each of our children painstakingly picked the items for the child in their age group. (Painstaking is the perfect word here. What we thought would be a 30 minute shopping trip because we already had an extensive list of items ready, turned into a 1 ½ hour shopping extravaganza. Never have you seen children debate the merits of different toothpastes or pencils like our crew. They were intense! You could see their pride as they found the perfect toothbrush or the coziest pair of socks.)

Once we finished shopping and felt certain that nothing good had been left out we let the kids pack their own bins. They were so excited and really had fun admiring their choices!

We talked a lot while we were watching them prepare their boxes about what we were doing and why we were doing it. We talked a lot about the children who would be receiving their gifts and how they might feel when they opened them. It seemed important to really point out the appreciation a child might have for owning a flashlight or wearing a shiny new watch. We decided which small toys might be their favorite and the many uses of a brand new tennis ball. All the kids really seemed to “get” the fact that what they were doing was truly going to make a difference in the life of a child. A child who is just like them.

From our youngest to our oldest, we saw the joy that giving can bring. We saw the pride they felt when there bin was full to the brim. We saw that they truly understand the mission of Operation Christmas Child and why they were lucky to be involved. As mothers, we felt grateful to have been able to share this moment with our children.

This holiday season build a box with your family to teach kindness, compassion, and generosity.

This is a sponsored conversation written by The Dose of Reality on behalf of Operation Christmas Child. The opinions and text are all ours.

Because Peanut Allergies Still Matter

Posted on September 22, 2014 by The Dose of Reality

It takes a village. And we would like to remind everyone out there just how important this issue is because peanut allergies still matter.

To the moms everywhere who have a child with a peanut allergy: this one is for you.

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I have no dog in this fight, honestly. Emma and Abby could bathe themselves in peanut butter if they wanted to. They could it eat by the jarful and other than probably being really full, they would be 100% fine.

Not the case for children with peanut allergies, though. Not even close.

In addition to all of the planning and worrying and checking that mothers of children with peanut allergies have to do in order to do something as simple as sending their kids to school, they also have to combat people who don’t care that their child could *LITERALLY* die from peanut exposure.

I cannot imagine having to live with that kind of fear every day, and I certainly cannot imagine having to deal with people who seemed so callous about the life of my child.

Here are ACTUAL things I know have been said TO a mom of a child with a peanut allergy. I know because the mom these things were said to is Lisa, the other Dose Girl.

“Well, my little sweet pea will only eat PB&J for lunch, so that is what I am packing. It’s really up to your 4 year-old to avoid it, not mine”.

“Oh, y’all won’t be able to attend the picnic? Fantastic. We can all bring peanut butter sandwiches for once”.

“Can’t they put your son at a table by himself to eat? I mean, should his allergy really affect my child?”

Oh yes. All true. All said. By mothers. To a mother. About her child. The child who has a life-threatening allergy.

Can you even imagine saying to a mother whose child had cancer, “Hey, listen, don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but your kid’s baldness is really bringing my kid down. Can you make her sit by herself?”

You probably gasped at the thought of being so rude to someone struggling. And yet, somehow, mothers of children with peanut allergies are not afforded the same consideration.

Because, y’all, it is SO MUCH easier to slap together a PB&J and not worry about the child with the peanut allergy. I mean, come on, kids are really picky, so coming up with an alternate lunch is like really, really hard. And really, why should you be bothered with someone else’s problem?

Because you should. Because you can be. Because for your child to eat a slice of turkey or a plain jelly sandwich means another child gets to live. It means another mother can feel just slightly less fear putting her child on a bus to go to school. Perhaps she can wonder a little less if that will be the day that the emergency Epi-Pen in her son’s pocket will need to be used. Maybe even not spend every minute he is out of her sight imagining the phone ringing with the news that her child is dead.

It is really the least that we can do. The mothers whose children can eat what they want, when they want, for the mothers of children who do not have the same luxury.

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Aaaahhhh, The Good Old Days, Remember Those?

Posted on July 9, 2014 by The Dose of Reality

The good old days, remember those?

Is the world more dangerous now, or have we built it up that way in our minds?

We found ourselves pondering this question recently after reading an amazing blog post by our friend Robin at Subtracting Additives.

After discussing it for an hour over the phone, we both realized that we needed to share this entry with our readers. It was not enough to simply tweet out the link or post it on Facebook, because we felt like it was so well written and so thought-provoking that we wanted all of you to read it, too.

No doubt, we have all found ourselves thinking about the world *we* grew up in versus the world in which we are raising our children. In our minds, we think back to the safety of our childhood days and wish for that same sort of innocence for our children. Or do we? Is our instinct to problem solve and care for our child’s every need stifling their ability to become self-reliant?

Here is a snippet of Robin’s take on this topic as she read the classic book Henry Huggins to her son. It will whet your appetites to click over and read her entire entry. We assure you that it will give you pause and make you think.

In the opening chapter, Henry is coming home from the Y, where he goes once a week for swimming lessons. He’s waiting at the bus stop, eating an ice cream cone, when he finds the homeless dog and has his first adventure trying to get him home on the bus.

Hmm.. there are some obvious snags to making this story 2013-friendly. Third grader riding city bus alone. Third grader simply walking out the door after swimming lessons and heading home, without being “picked up” by a designated adult. Child having only one after school commitment per week.

2013 version: Henry’s mom picks him up from school and drives him to the Y. She walks inside with him and sits on a plastic chair next to the pool for his whole lesson. She walks out with him afterward. As they are walking toward the minivan, they see Ribsy sitting in the parking lot and decide to take him home. Ice cream cone sadly omitted or possibly gluten-free cone?

Click here to read the rest of Robin’s post.

http://subtractingadditives.blogspot.com/2013/01/henry-huggins-2013-remix.html

Thank you Robin for allowing us to share this amazing piece here at The Dose of Reality. Comments are closed here today, so you can share your love of Robin’s piece with her directly.

Robin and her adorable son!

The True Meaning Of Good Sportsmanship

Posted on December 30, 2013 by The Dose of Reality

You learn a lot of valuable lessons when you play sports, but nothing more valuable than what it means to practice good sportsmanship.

It is more than lining up at the end of the game, win or lose, and shaking the hands of your opponents.

It is more than hitting the winning run.

It is even more than showing up at every practice and giving it your all.

What truly makes someone a good sportsman?

What, especially, makes an entire team good sportsmen?

This. Right here.

In a day and age when we all hear so much about teenagers who are not being their best selves, it is especially touching to see a display of kindness like this one.

In fact, to see an entire community cheering in the stands and on the sidelines was enough to bring us to tears.

These are the moments.

These are the lessons.

This is what we want to pass down to our children. To know what it feels like to give someone a moment that will forever change their lives. To know that something that might feel routine to you, will feel momentous to someone else.

It is easy to get wrapped up in all the negative in the world.

It is easy to think more about winning the game and less about the reasons you wanted to play in the first place.

Seeing Noah score that touchdown was a great reminder that we all need to be a little more generous. Have a little more compassion. Remember that it does not always have to be about us.

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