What To Do?

I spent ages trying to write this particular blog today, none of the words I wrote seemed to be right and get across what I actually wanted to say.

It all started with a Twitter post this morning which encouraged us to get a trend going - #alicebucketlist

Alice Pyne has cancer and only weeks to live, according the news reports. She started a blog and listed all of the things she hoped to achieve in the time she has left. Within hours the trend was global and her hashtag was being tweeted all over the place. Quite rightly, Alice says on her blog that there are other children and young people in exactly the same position as her and we should not forget them.

She included a link to a website http://www.postpals.co.uk/ I have just spent the last hour reading some profiles and basically crying my eyes out. I have made a promise to myself that I am going to post some cards off to these children - the time they have left needs to be as happy as possible.

I have been crying quite a bit over the last couple of days. I watched BBC1's 'Poor Kids' the other night. It was very well filmed, narrated by the children themselves and gave a raw insight in to a life in poverty from their point of view.

I get very angry that as a country we seemingly send billions to over-seas aid, yet there are vast amounts of children in this country who are in the same position. Its not that I don't think that we shouldn't assist other countries, but surely we need to be dealing with our own poverty first?

One little girl said that she didn't think she would live beyond 21 years old and that her life was going to be bad - what kind of hope is that?

The Hubstacle just took one look at my face during this and said 'You can't save them all', I know this, of course I do, but I refuse to accept that children should go hungry. I was waiting to see the adults smoking, drinking and watching their HD TV's, wearing designer clothes - then I would have launched to 10,000ft - but actually the adults came across reasonably ok and were actively trying to improve their families situations.

I am grateful for my family, our lives, our health and our future together. My children are exposed to other people's needs and suffering, we hope it will make them better people and thankful for what they have in life.

At the moment Aarvark and Rhino think it is normal that Mummy and Daddy love them, cuddle them, will keep them safe and take care of them. They know no different.

This is party why we want to start fostering again, our own children need to know that not everything in the world is rosy and understand how fortunate they are.