Do you remember how I told you all about the joys of sponsoring a child from a developing nation? The cute letters in the mail? The sense of superiority that comes with that little sponsorship card?
Remember how I told you that it was all a big, lovely, love-in?
Well there's one aspect of child sponsorship that I neglected to tell you of. I didn't tell you about the guilt.
That's right. Along with the sweet drawings and awkwardly translated messages, my sponsor baby letters have, of late, been coming with a healthy dose of guilt.
All I did was never wrote to her. Ever. And I've tried, for real. It's just that I never know what to say! I know I said that Compassion will send you a letter writing guide. I know I said it's easy. I lied of course.
But did I really deserve a guilt trip? That's right, people. My sponsor baby is guilt tripping me. Three letters in a row have held the same sentiment. Little girl is young, so her real mama writes for her.
Let me tell you what I'm talking about...
Dear Miss Mel Cotton,
Hi! Hello! How are you there? I'm hoping that
you're in the best of health. (This all seems sweet enough, but you won't
believe what she's setting me up for)Jerrylyn is back in school again and she is
now in grade 3. (See that? My little Jerrylyn's an academic superstar!
Gonna change the world, this one)
Her birthday is near. On September 15 she
will turn 9 years old. As if it's only yesterday, now she'll be getting a lady!
(I know what you're thinking. What's Mel going on
about? This is all perfectly lovely. Well just you wait and see. Sweet little
Jerrylyn's about to strike the death blow)
Jerrylyn keeps on asking me "why is it that
her sponsor didn't write to her nor sending her photos? She wants to see even
your photos and she wishes to receive letters from you.
(Ouch. My heart.)
I end my letter here... I'm very thankful to
you. Jerrylyn is always waiting for your reply.
Respectfully
Etc. Etc.
Did you see that? My sponsor baby just laid an emotional smack down on me. Harsh much? I mean, I send her $50 a month. What more does she want? Did I really deserve that?
Oh who am I kidding? Of course I deserve it! Truth is, I'm a terrible Compassion mama. I'm the absentee parent who makes up for her lack of quality time by showering baby with expensive gifts. When my baby is 16 and riding around with scruffy looking boys on the backs of motorcycles, I'm going to ask "what did I do wrong? I gave her everything she could ever want!" Not once will I stop to consider that all she really wants is a sponsor mother's love.
I still can't find Jerrylyn's picture, btw. Here's the Christmas card she sent me instead. A bad mama? Moi? Nay!
Go on. Unfollow me if you want. I'll understand.
But for those of you who decide to stand by this sorry excuse for a sponsor mama, I need you to hold me accountable to my revelation. From now on, I'm going to be the best sponsor mama there ever was. Anything I can find that'll fit into a DL envelope, Imma send over to that little girl. She'll have so many sticker sheets and bookmarks with pictures of koalas on them she won't know what to do with them.
I'm coming, baby. Just hold on. My letters will be there soon!
***
Time for the plug...
Be rad. Sponsor a child. I for one only date guys who sponsor children.
If you're in Oz: compassion.com.au
For the USA: compassion.com
And residents of Canada, head over here: compassion.ca
Everywhere else, google it. It's well worth the effort.
And for the love of pete, write that kid a letter!
Posts
I like how you threw in the dating requirement.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. I don't hate you for it, either. LOL
Maybe apart from the money you send her, she wants to make a real connection with you. But I think you sponsoring a kid is really great.
ReplyDeleteShame on you Mel Cotton, you write and write but you can't write a 10 line-letter? lol...I say you either send her a letter or we all write her one here!
ReplyDeleteI'll start:
Dear Jerrelyn:
I am so sorry I haven't written you before, it's just that sometimes it's hard to think of words to say to you. (be honest)
etc...shall I go on?
Oh my! I didn't know you were sponsoring a child from my country and for that i am hats down...and i am still a follower, definitely. I'm really thankful Mel for helping that kid. But still you have to write a letter to her. She wants love. Thank you, thank you!
ReplyDeleteHeather - this sort of thing can only happen to me. Who the heck gets a passive aggressive sponsor child? :P
ReplyDeleteTricia - I think so too. And honestly that's why I did it. If I didn't want to connect I would have just donated a lump sum. Pretty silly, eh?
Ella - what an amazing idea! I wonder if she can get internet access. Maybe I could do a post and everyone can leave a comment for her!
Mishieru - Not a jot. Seriously, if you could see how much I spent on shoes last month you wouldn't be saying that. lol
this guilt is exactly why i avoid being a mama in the first place. thus, i am a much worse person that you. kudos!
ReplyDeleteRebecca - I adore my compassion babies. Even with the guilt, I wouldn't give them up for the world!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, Mel, you're a better person than me. Not only would I not bother to write, I would probably lose their cards and letters. It's not that I'm a bad person; it's that I get forgetful quickly. (I was going to write, "artsy types like me get forgetful quickly," before realizing that I was lumping people together and that's not necessarily fair.)
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad thing that she wants a connection. We should all embrace it. But the practical side of me says, "How often have you maintained a connection with someone in another part of the US, much less a random child from another part of the world?" I know I sound heartless right now, and I hate myself for it. But I have to face facts and jump on that train [if only because you, and probably every great girl, only date men who sponsor children].
P.S.- I give to hobos and used to volunteer at a soup kitchen. I still do on the days around the American Thanksgiving. That's something, right?
Greg - *rolls eyes* you're a regular Adolf Hitler. Get away from my blog.
ReplyDeleteDid I mention that I lost their pictures and info cards? That's right, I lost my Compassion Babies!
Dude.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you get the internet to write her letters? As in, we post it here and you can do little print outs from the world and send it to her.
I think that'd be way cool.
x
Oh Risha, you are my hero!
ReplyDeleteDid you hear that everyone? Look at what Risha said. We're doing that!!!
OH!
ReplyDeleteWhat if you got a little notebook from some ... little notebook store ... and sent it around to all your bloggy friends to write something in for them, and then when we send it back to you, you forward it to them!?
I just realised that the comment above this said something similar.
I will tell myself it's because we both have great minds or something... *cough*
Cuppy - you both do have great, beautiful minds.
ReplyDeleteOnly thing is it will need to be a very slim notebook so I can mail it to the Philippines. That could be an idea though! One for Jerrylyn and one for Timmy from Uganda!
Yowch, I felt that GEEEEELT all the way from London. They sure do know how to sock it to you.
ReplyDeleteI like the notebook idea though!
Wow. So guilt ridden, and so hilarious. How do you do that?
ReplyDeleteAly - That was a serious guilt trip, for sure! I'm still reeling.
ReplyDeleteKris - I think that's a good thing, although it doesn't sound very healthy. Anyway, thanks! :)
But you're a damned good blogger, which is why I'm passing this on to you:
ReplyDeleteBlog award! http://websterslaw.blogspot.com/2010/05/things-you-dont-like-to-leave-house.html
Allison - Thanks honey. It's nice to know somebody thinks I'm sweet, although my mum would probably laugh if she saw this. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnything small given with love and compassion is worth a million Mel, so don't be guilty over that shoes. Not everyone can pledge to give a sum like that monthly for someone you don't really know. That is why i am so thankful to you. It really means a lot to me coz i can relate. I was once a sponsored kid back in highschool. So Mel let me give you this award...
ReplyDeletehttp://mishierumitch.blogspot.com/2010/05/oh-my-another-goodies.html
Really Mish? That means so much to know that. WOW. It just makes it that much more real the little bit that I give. Thank you for sharing that. And thank you for the award, sweetie. xx.
ReplyDeleteYes Mel. I was fortunately given the chance to finished highschool without spending a single cent. It's a charitable institution runned by nuns and founded by an american priest. We were stay-in so we lived in the school. I think i have to blog about it so you can understand what i mean.
ReplyDeleteMish - Oh definitely. I'd love to hear more about it. That's really cool. And it makes sense why you were so excited to hear that I sponsor some kids. Well you'll be happy to know that a lot of my friends sponsor children from developing countries.
ReplyDeleteYeah, so you must be wondering why am i so excited about it. Hahaha! Okay, i'll make a blog about it maybe next week. Oh that's great Mel. I thank the Lord for people like you and your friends. God bless you!
ReplyDelete