Wednesday, October 15 is Blog Action Day, and the purpose is to generate worldwide discussion about an issue — this year the issue is poverty.

According to the site, “By doing so on the same day, the blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue.”

From a quick look at the more than 9,400 sites participating, there’s plenty to write about. And according to the US Census Bureau, 35.9 million people live below the poverty line in America, including 12.9 million children.

In September my column at 5 Minutes for Mom focused on this subject, identifying ways to develop social awareness in our kids. Although I’ve never experienced poverty, and I’ve been personally blessed with a financially steady upbringing and adulthood, I certainly know it exists. And it’s closer to home than we sometimes think.

My husband works in a school district with high poverty statistics – more than half of the school’s population receives free-or-reduced lunch. And he knows from his own low-income childhood that poverty is hard on all families – even strong and close ones.

If you’re looking for ideas for what you can do, the Blog Action Day blog is a good place to start.

I’ll add my favorite Blog Action Day posts throughout the day tomorrow. A few include:
Jonathan Fields — Kids Helping Kids
Digital Photography School – 17 Images of Poverty
ProBlogger – Reflections on Poverty
Freelance Writing — How Reading Helped One Woman Rise Above Poverty
Jessica Knows — Eleven Moms and Walmart Team Up
Bella Casa — Poverty – What Can One Person Do?
First Giving – Online Fundraising to Combat Poverty
The Lamp NYC — Poverty and the Media
Everyday Baby Steps — Blog Action Day, What Will You Do?

Last week I attended teacher’s convention for two days, a regional conference for educators in our half of the state. My daughter accompanied me for part of the conference, speaking with me at learning sessions. I talked about my book, and she about BookWorm Wednesday — possibly the best illustration of youth empowerment I could ask for.

While we were busy conferencing, my nine-year-old son spent time with Grandma – something she’d claim she doesn’t get to do nearly enough. My mom raised me as a single parent, and she was thankful I was born a girl, since she has always had the feeling she didn’t have much to offer to boys. Knowing this, I wondered what they’d do together – Grandma and her strong Y-chromosome grandson. How would they spend their day?

They spent most of one morning finding deals at garage sales. They had lunch at Old Country Buffet, where he could pick out whatever he wanted to eat. She listened to him give her a report on a book he’d read (book review to publish here next month) and paid him a $2 bill for doing it. They worked together outside on an unseasonably warm fall day, and she hired him to help her spread dirt and clean out her garden.

And each day when I returned to her house after the conference, they were perched at the dining room table playing double-solitaire. They could hardly pull their attention away long enough to say, “Hello.”

My mom is an efficient, productive, hard-working woman. She has been all her life. The time she spent with my son both honored and celebrated the work, while embracing the play as well. And the small, seemingly insignificant moments they spent together helped to build a relationship.

I can’t count the inter-generational lessons he learned during those two days — about frugality, work ethic, and the importance of reading. And he learned these things without her needing to necessarily say anything – it was their actions together that taught the lessons, as well as her genuine interest in listening to everything he had to say.

For “knowing nothing about boys,” it seems to me she’s figured it out. Craig thought the whole visit was awesome. And he told me, “Next time she says she wants me to teach her how to play 500.”

Grandma rocks.

Other Torch-Passers
How Much do You Tell Your Kids About the Financial Crisis?
Youth Ministers Meet to Decide Future of European Youth Policy

What does passing the torch mean to you? Is it teaching? Passing traditions? Doing the right thing? Or good news about youth? Join us each week for Pass the Torch Tuesday. Former PTT posts.

My friend Genny is hosting a thoughtful project this month, based on a book she read entitled, One Month to Live. Although I certainly won’t know when my 30 day clock will begin, it’s an interesting prospect to consider how I’d use my time.

In high school I made a “life list” and I’ve considered writing a reprise to that — all the destinations I’ve yet to travel, and the goals I’ve yet to achieve. But this project is quite different. With only 30 days, I find myself thinking more about what I wouldn’t do, than what I would do.

I wouldn’t
…go anywhere, see things or fill my life with adventure, like I would on a bucket list that I might take decades to cross off. I wouldn’t achieve, reach goals or buy things.

I wouldn’t watch the news, or listen to anyone who shared the negative side of it.

I wouldn’t answer the phone or sort my email inbox.

I wouldn’t resent, regret, worry, or feel obligated, angry or hurt.

I would
…pick and choose the small things that have brought me joy.

I’d live at the cabin, like we do in the summer.

I’d fill the freezer with filet mignon and shrimp, make fancy dinners with my daughter and bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch with my son.

I’d rise early and go to bed late, watch the sun illuminate the lake as I drank coffee with my husband, and watch it blaze red at dusk as we sipped Merlot.

I’d go for walks.

I’d toast marshmallows with my kids and ride bikes to Dairy Queen.

I’d blog every day, leaving my own “Last Lecture.”

I’d take pictures.

If friends and family visited, we’d talk and laugh, and share good news.

I wouldn’t talk about dying in 30 days.

And I’d thank God if he let my last 30 days be healthy ones.

What would you do with your time, if you knew you only had 30 days to live?

As the producer promised, our NBC regional affiliate visited BookWorm Wednesday last week to feature the neighborhood book project on the news. You can imagine the excitement around our house last Wednesday, as the kids in the neighborhood came down the road for their weekly gathering.

The cameraman took lots of video, catching all the kids in action as they listened to the story, created egg-carton bugs and checked out books.

Afterward, the reporter interviewed all the BookWorm Wednesday “Divas” to discuss the project.

Don’t you just love hearing good news about youth?

BookWorm Wednesday Series:

A Teacher in the Making
A BookWorm Wednesday Halloween
BookWorm Wednesday Potion Recipe
My Daughter Won the Kohl’s Kids Who Care Scholarship
Buy with Amazon and Donate to BookWorm Wednesday
BookWorm Wednesday Gets Some Press
BookWorm Wednesday Featured

Other Torch-Passers
YPulse Youth Marketing News

What does passing the torch mean to you? Is it teaching? Passing traditions? Doing the right thing? Or good news about youth? Join us each week for Pass the Torch Tuesday. Former PTT posts.

It’s hard for me to believe, but this month marks the second anniversary of my 5 Minutes for Mom monthly column, Positively Speaking. To celebrate the milestone, I’ve written an article which outlines all the columns I’ve written, organized by Developmental Asset category. Fun!

Please go check it out here.

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