Friday, March 6, 2009

Surrogate Dads & Donuts

I had a difficult experience a few days ago at the elementary school. On Wednesday morning I went to the annual Dads & Donuts where teachers serve a scrumptious glazed donut and dads read stories for a few minutes before school starts.

In the kindergarten class I noticed an adorable little girl from our neighborhood who looked like a lost puppy. Knowing that she lives with her single mom, I went over and asked if she wanted to read a story with us. She jumped at the chance. I noticed that she didn't have a donut so I asked if she had already had one and she shook her head.

Then I asked if she liked donuts and she smiled and nodded. I said "Do you want to go get a donut before we read a story?" Her eyes lit up and she got a huge smile on her face. I told her we'd wait until she got back to start the story and she ran to grab a donut. I then realized that she hadn't gotten a donut because she she thought she wasn't allowed to without having a dad there.

As she sat down I heard her quietly say to herself "I don't even have a dad." By this point my heart was broken. I just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her that everything would be okay. Instead we read a Dr. Seuss book and ate a deep-fried carb bomb.

I haven't been able to get this situation out of my head since this happened two days ago. I'm not much of a crier but this made my eyes water. I'm a fixer - I want to do something to make matters better. I'm at a loss of how to fix this one though, except to pray and turn it over to the ultimate One who can heal broken hearts.

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