Or:
Pip, continued...
I should have seen it coming. I should have been prepared. Hindsight truly is 20/20.
But who would have thought that Pip's folks really would have let her down so bad this season?
I understand not having the cash for gifts. I really do. I don't even think that gifts are the best part of the holiday season. I much prefer to just spend time with loved ones. Still, in order to value that kind of a holiday, you have to be taught that the commercial aspects of the season are not the main thing. Big Sprout may have big dreams of all the great things she wants for x-mas, but she is always delighted with whatever we can manage and we make darn sure that the season is magical for her in other ways.
No child should be as disappointed as Pip was when she came over today. It broke my heart to hear that Santa "didn't bring much at all".
Being the sucker I am, I headed to the store and binged on the 50% off stuff at Wally World. So Pip was belatedly gifted with some totally frivolous, fun, and girly things from her Barefoot friends.
I just wish I would have been ready for it before she even got here. I wish I could have her with us all the time so that I could teach her about how special family can be, how fun it can be to just cuddle up on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn, a bag of Twizzlers, and Rudolph on the TV. I want to take her for drives and show her the beautiful lights that people put up every year. I want to take her skating. I want to show her about catching "ice fish" and dodging the "snow sharks". I want to show her that it isn't about $$, it's about love.
I wonder if she knows about love. I wonder if anyone has ever told her how special she is. I wonder if anyone has ever taken time to really see her. Do they play games with her? Listen to her talk about her day?
I just don't know.
7 comments:
These stories of Pip are really breaking my heart! What is wrong with her parents??
You don't need stuff, if you have love. Like you said, it's the time spent with them, snuggles and shared experiences.
How heartbreaking, Barefoot! On the other hand, this girl is always going to remember your love and kindness as being something that got her through the hard times. Keep doing what you are doing and never loose faith that she will prevail this childhood. I have been there, and there was a Barefoot in my life.. who made the dark times livable.
{{{hugs}}}
Lisa-
What is wrong with her parents? They are selfish losers!
Mysti-
Now you are breaking my heart! I am so glad you had someone to help you out during the bad times, because you have turned into one wonderful person!
(((hugs right back)))
Gosh, that's just so darn sad about Pip's folks. Thank God for your caring heart BG. Hopefully your care and concern will show that little girl that there is good in the world and she doesn't turn out like her own parents.
God bless you, Barefoot, for showing some compassion and love to that poor girl. You know, you could just be the one to make a difference in her life.
Ruthie and Deb-
Thank you so much! This sounds so selfish, but I worry so much about if I am doing the right thing by Pip. I worry that I am sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong. I worry that I will make things worse, not better. I worry (and feel guilty about it) that she is "playing" me in hopes of getting more out of me.
I think I probably worry more about my relationship with her than I do about my relationship with my own Sprouts.
Then you (and Lisa, and Mysti, and everyone else who has had something to say about it) give me a little bit of encouragement and I know that the best I can do is going to be better than what her family is doing, even if I can't make everything right and will make mistakes. I know that, no matter what, every child deserves to be genuinely cared about and wanted. And I know that I can at least give her that.
Thanks, all, for the encouragement.
*belatedly* Wow.... I'm sorry to hear that Pip didn't have much of a christmas at all because her parents are such dead-beats. My hope is that she sees how families are supposed to act (like yours!) and resolves to be such a great mom to her own kids someday, instead of like her own mom. (And hopefully, she'll recognize that being a mom at 15/16/17, isn't a good way to BE a great Mom. Not that it doesn't sometimes happen that kids become great parents themselves, just not often when the parents are still children themselves.)
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