We North Americans sometimes forget how lucky we are!

A comment on my blog prompted me to discuss an issue that has been on my mind for a while. It saddens me that people in poorer nations have to leave family behind for months, sometimes years at a time because of employment opportunities they cannot find at home.

One such example is overseas nannies many of which have young children of their own they must leave behind. I admire their courage in coming to a foreign country to help provide for their family at home and the sacrifices they make that we in North America take for granted. Although there are quite a few nannies who are single, many do have young children back home. I cannot even come close to feel what it must be like to tuck in someone else's child nightly, but only on occasion say goodnight over the phone to my own child. There are many people with some horrible child custody arrangements here in North America who see their children more often. If these women are fortunate enough to find an employer who will buy them a ticket home occasionally,(once maybe twice a year) they are the fortunate few.

Many parents for financial reasons, both have to be employed and there are single parents as well. These parents do need Day and sometimes Night care providers, so employing a nanny is a cost effective solution. A few nannies though are employed because some parents (who do not work) feel they need to pursue a hobby or socialize often. This saddens me the most because, while these parents are out enjoying life without their children for a few hours, their nannies must be away from their children for months at a time!

There must be a better way! We throw food, toys, clothing, extra junk we buy, away while many live with very little.(some of us do recycle though) We few have more than enough so many can have very little!

We can start by being thankful for what we do have, be it little or more than we really need. We should give any extra to those in need and help those in need to provide for themselves. One way is to buy fair trade goods. Many people for example; work very hard to pick and sort the coffee beans for less pay a day, than it costs to buy the coffee that many throw away half finished. We buy dollar store items that get thrown away daily. We are many generations of wasteful people. let's teach our next generation to be THANKFUL and to really THINK about what consequence, be it good or bad, that their action may produce!