What to wear?

The forecast says it is going to be much warmer today than yesterday. I’m not one to get cold very much. and I’ve never minded cold weather, but I was wearing a sweatshirt when we went walking yesterday. It is typical weather for a South Dakota autumn. We have some glorious and wonderfully warm days and we have a few cold days. We get an occasional snowfall, but it melts quickly and we carry on with life. Back in 2013, when Winter Storm Atlas dropped a couple of few of snow and more in some areas during a real blast October 3 - 5. Later that same fall we took a trip west with no road problems at all. We’re used to changing weather and usually have taken the right precautions.

I’ve been keeping my eyes on the weather this year, because we are planning to be loading up a truck with our household goods and heading to the west coast in a couple of weeks. It is later than we had planned, but sometimes that is just the way things work out.

Running errands and walking around town over the past few days, I have been noticing how children are dressed. The current fashion definitely favors short pants for boys. It interests me in part because when I was an elementary school student and well into my high school years, I never had to make a decision about what pants to wear during the school year. We wore long pants and they were jeans. Our summer pants were usually jeans that had been cut off just above the holes in the knees. We got a new pair of jeans for rodeo in the middle of the summer and a new pair for back to school in the fall. Those two pairs of pants were rotated based on our mother’s observation of how clean they were. On Sundays we wore our dress clothes, which always were long pants, usually black.

Kids today, however, have more choices to make when it comes to what to wear to school. The Roman Catholic school system and a couple of the schools associated with other churches have uniforms, but for the majority of children who go to public school, there is a lot of choice when it comes to what to wear. This has resulted in a bit of a change from the days when I was an elementary school student. When I was a child, on chilly days, the girls were all huddles around the door of the school because their legs were cold because they were wearing skirts. The boys spread out across the school yard because we got to wear pants that kept our legs warm. I don’t remember even thinking about whether or not this was fair, I simply accepted it as the way things were. That distinction has long since fallen by the wayside. I frequently notice boys with short pants who are a bit chilly on cool mornings.

It is one thing when it is a matter of choice. It is another thing entirely when a child lacks warm clothes in the winter. It can be life-threatening to go outside without proper clothing when it really gets cold. Every year there are opportunities to donate warm clothes for children in our community. There are drives for coats and hats and mittens that can be given to children who do not have warm clothes. People in our community are generous and we are glad to see that the donation boxes fill up quickly. One of the dynamics is that children in families who move a lot are forced to leave behind some of their possessions. Furthermore, children grow quickly so the jacket that fit last winter is likely to be too small this winter. The cost of new clothes, especially winter outerwear is significant and not all families can come up with the cash at the point where there is need.

Things will be especially tight as we move towards winter this year. Unemployment is increasing and a wave of evictions is starting to sweep across the country. Some families are responding by doubling up, welcoming additional family members and friends into their homes. Others are forced to travel in search of work or in search of a warmer place to spend the winter. Often they are relying on cars with mechanical problems that can deplete the family’s cash and leave people stranded in places other than where they intended. As we travel, it is not uncommon to see people seeking support to get enough fuel to go on to the next stop in their journey. It is one thing to ask for charity for a warm coat for a child. It is much more difficult to get a tank of gas for a traveling family.

There are also plenty of families with children who will be traveling this autumn because they have been displaced by wildfires across the west. A lot of homes have gone up in smoke. While some of those homes belong to families with considerable means and a lot of options, other families have lost early everything they have. Many are in the process of traveling to be with distant relatives or just to find another place where they can settle.

Add to the picture the number of children who need to be learning remotely because of the pandemic, and what to wear to school is not the highest priority for a whole lot of children and their families.

Gracious God, help us to see and care for the children of families that are marginalized in our society. Children are often the victims of the choices and circumstances of their parents and get caught up in cycles of poverty and need. Many lack proper nutrition and adequate clothing for everyday living. Open our hearts and inspire our generosity that we might respond to their need. May we be moved to share the bounty of our lives with them. Bless the children who are wondering what they will wear and what they will eat and where they will sleep. May we never forget them. Amen.

Copyright (c) 2020 by Ted E. Huffman. I wrote this. If you would like to share it, please direct your friends to my web site. If you'd like permission to copy, please send me an email. Thanks!

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