How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl, 1952, German Jewish diarist (1929 - 1945)

It’s already 9:30 in the morning and I’m still sitting here in front of the computer.

I did get about 20 kids out the door to school, I’ve washed a load of clothes and hung them outside but breakfast bowls are in the sink, I’ve neither washed my face nor brushed my teeth, I’m still in PJs and my to-do list has nothing scratched off of it.

Yet I’m sitting here thinking about improving the world. It’s thoughts like that, the bigger picture, that enable me to face each challenging moment. Maybe I can only convince one other mama to hang in there, that’s improving the world. Or I can recycle, go outside and pick everything before tonights expected frost, it’s not that I need to enact a law or be a star; I just need to do something each day to better someone’s existence. How hard is that?

Besides teaching my kids everything they need to know, in spite of the gaps in their childhood as they bounced about in foster care, I need to teach empathy and the ability of each one of my kids to do something with their lives, something big like being a decent human being.

It’s easy to be bad, to make poor choices. Developing character and choosing wisely is way more difficult yet obviously ultimately rewarding.

One reason I’ve been so down lately is due to the fact that we’ve had an extended period of time in which many of my kids have had involvement in the criminal justice system yet somehow I’ve lost sight that Saray, Daniel, Cristy and Jesse all are working on their college educations. Miriam is right behind them, back in her tutoring classes to up her college entrance test scores after several months of deceitful rebellion.

That’s five kids working on improving the world, bettering themselves so that they can help others or to, at least, not be a burden. Years of listening to my big mouth telling them, “Don’t tell me something can’t be done. I’m doing it,” has been imprinted in their psyches that they too can achieve and they are doing so. They are doing this, not me. They’ve chosen wisely, made good decisions and will reap good rewards. And they’ve made me proud. All adopted from tough circumstances at ages 11, 6, 12 and 12 respectively.

This adoption of older children can be done. Its small steps forward, baby steps even at times, but moving forward is the key. Improving oneself in order to improve the world in some way.

And don't even get me started on the grandchildren, I'm holding one, Cindy Mae, in this picture.

Photo Credit Cindy Bodie