As we were driving to the library today, Avery commented, “I don’t think that’s a yard sale…” I thought she’d seen a sign for yard sale, so I said “No, no yard sales today… that was this weekend.” She said, “Why is all their stuff out then?” So, I looked and saw this:

At first, I had to laugh, but then decided that it was time for a serious conversation. We keep granola bars in our car to hand out to people who need them- the people standing on the corner asking for change. She has given the granola bars, and now asks if we have any in the car to hand out.

I am staying away from the words “bum and beggar.”

We talked about how some people need some extra help with groceries- our church runs a food bank that we’ve helped out at a few times. Some people new clothes and shoes, toys at Christmas and some people sadly enough don’t have homes to eat and sleep in. They have their clothes and blankets with them since they have no home to leave it all in.

Avery’s questions:

She was worried about the rain that fell this morning… wouldn’t all their stuff get wet? Yes, it probably did, which made them mad.

Where they slept at night- I guess in the tent that’s set up. Outside.

Did they ever have a home? Probably yes, they had homes at one time. Maybe they couldn’t get a job. How do you explain mental illness to a 5 year old?

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After our “serious conversation” and her questions. She moved on to wanting to know when she can ride a real horse…. short attention span, I guess. I am sure she’ll revisit the topic soon. The season of “giving” is coming up, not that it needs to be “the season” to give back. We need to work on that…