Thinking

I've been at home this week doing a whole lot of nothing. Well, that's not entirely true. I've been reading, napping, eating, reading, napping, watching movies, etc. I've also had alot of time to just sit and think, which is one of my all-time favorite things to do.

So what am I thinking about? I'm thinking about the health care debacle and wishing congresspersons had to go without insurance for a while to experience what many of the families at Promise House experience every day. I'm thinking about the "troops" abroad in Iraq and Afganistan and how easy it is to depersonalize young men and women whose parents and loved ones are waiting with bated breath every day for them to get home safely. I'm also thinking that these young men and women are the same age as many of the older teens at Promise House--19, 21, 22, 23, 24--SO YOUNG.

I'm thinking that I am grateful to have a job, and if any of the higher ups in the financial world who say the recession is ending could talk to just the people I know who are unemployed, they might think something different. If they came to PH any day and listened in on the receptionist fielding requests for food, rent assistance, jobs, clothes, housing, they might change their tune.

I'm thinking about some of the kids who have come through Promise House--their challenges, their trauma, their victories, their triumphs. No matter how much I may gripe about my job, I can never get enough of seeing our kids in action. And I'm thinking about all of my staff who make my life easier and who make the lives of our teens easier.

Sitting and thinking helps me get things in order, put things in perspective, process current experiences, create new ideas. It helps me appreciate all the good things both in my lpersonal ife and in the life of PH and gives me time to better see the challenges in both arenas that I need to address. It helps me realize that the challenges I face are really miniscule in the face of the challenges every one of our teens face when they come to PH.

So today, I'm sitting here thinking. But next week I'll be moving fast. Let's hope the good thinking sticks.