The Amazing Race

Last season I discovered "The Amazing Race." Since then David has started to enjoy it with me and Janna has asked if she could watch it. We tape it and then sit down together to watch & discuss. Most times the discussions are which one of us would do each challenge or we talk about the locations the contestants are in. It's been really fun to look up countries or areas on the computer, see pictures and talk about how life is different & similar there. We love discussing the challenges and we cheer on all the teams.

This past Sunday the teams travelled to Jaipur, India. As these beautiful, exotic images are flying across our screen we also see the stark poverty of the locals. One team member began crying as she saw animals running loose with no food. Just as I was wondering if I should say something to Janna an image burned into me - three children sitting on the side of the dirty road burning and eating trash. About that time the shows deaf contestant started to cry and signed to his mother "those children were eating trash." Janna read the captioned sentence and asked me with all seriousness, "mommy, why are they eating trash?"

My heart hurt as I discussed with my own precious child why there are children in this world that have no food. There are children in this world that have no one to feed or love them. As I'm explaining this to her she asks, "mom, can we go there when I'm older and I'll give them my food? We could bring them food and build houses for them. Maybe on my birthday."

She is such a considerate person. She sees a need and wants to help. My mother's spirit of giving lives on in this sweet girl and I'm so glad she is mine. Sometimes I wish I could shelter her from the horrors of this world. But then she'll never grow if she isn't given the room. I wish we could change this world. I wish I could make it different. I wish I could help those children.

So we'll set our own goals and do our best to make this a better place to live. In the meantime, I'll introduce Janna to Unicef.