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When I was a kid, I kind of figured that I’d grow up to be someone. You know, like an important manager in a company or a well-known journalist or something. Someone that other people looked up to. It never occurred to me that I’d choose to be a stay-at-home mom or that the people looking up to me would be my three stay-at-home kids trying to see if there are boogers in my nose.

But I’m not complaining. In fact, the life of a homeschooling mom can be pretty darn sweet. I get to do a whole lot of fun stuff with my kids and count it as school – and doing school automatically means that you’re being productive. Nice, huh? So unlike regular moms, I don’t have to drag my kids off to school on crummy days;  instead, I make a second a third another cup of tea and relax on the couch in my pyjamas while my oldest describes the classic novel that she’s reading. And I don’t have to go to boring office meetings like other grown ups; I get to go on nature walks in the forest with our fellow homeschooling families. And I don’t have to smile politely at cranky customers; I just tell my cranky kids to go play outside. Ha. How many times have I wished in the past that I could tell a cranky customer to just go fly a kite…?

But I’m not going to pretend that I don’t feel a twinge of jealousy when I see photos from my fabulously wealthy (aka employed) friends on Facebook with their lovely furniture and pretty clothes and dreamy vacation photos. Vacations? If my kids are lucky, I might put on my best jeans (maternity, because they’re the only ones without holes), squeeze the three of them into the backseat of my eleven year old car and take them to a library in the next city over as a treat. Exotic.

Of course, those feelings of envy rarely last long and I soon remember what’s really important. Like keeping my iPhone out of the reach of my one year old, for example. And maybe installing a lock on the toilet.

Honestly, I can’t believe my that my phone hasn’t been destroyed 72 times over. And believe me, when it finally gets shoved in the toaster one last time or thrown out the back window on the highway, I am not buying another one.

I don’t think I ever understood the saying that “a penny nickel saved is a nickel earned” as well as I do now as a stay at home mom. When you’re part of a one-income family, you have to watch those coins carefully, and as the main shopper in the house, I really believe that my job is important. When I cut wasteful spending from our food budget, I can allocate more money towards our hydro bill. By sharing one car, I can allocate more money towards … our hydro bill. Seriously, it’s 2015. Why does electricity cost so much? Doesn’t the sun send us power for free every day?

Anyway. My husband works and I scrimp and we strive for a simple lifestyle so that we can make it work and it’s mostly wonderful. Wonderful family, wonderful home, wonderful friends, wonderful life. I have been so, so blessed.

But this weekend was a harsh reminder that the world is a cruel place for many others. France, Lebanon, Iraq. Syria. Stories of suffering. Sadness. Pictures of children that have no bed to sleep in, children that are the same age as my children. I felt so useless, so powerless to help.

All I want to do is … something.

I want to do something concrete, something that will help even just one person feel a tiny bit better. But what? I don’t have a job. I don’t have extra money to send off for food or water or medical supplies or toys. When tragedies happen, I feel incredibly frustrated because my family’s simple lifestyle doesn’t do anyone else any good; my cancelled cable bill isn’t going to comfort anyone overseas.

It’s way too easy to do nothing because everything you can do feels inadequate. That’s stupid though. The “go big or go home” mentality should only apply to to 1980s’ hairstyles, not acts of kindness.

So, after some prayer, I decided to reactivate my Barefoot Books ambassador account. Now, this honestly feels like the single most insignificant thing I could do, but it’s something. I figured that a lot of people will be doing Christmas shopping over the next month and that I could donate the profits from all my sales before Christmas to a charity. I’ve chosen to give the money to my church – we’re fundraising so that we can sponsor a refugee family. It feels appropriate. It feels tangible.

Maybe you’re a fellow stay-at-home mom too, feeling helpless when you watch the news. Just do something that adds more love to the world. Maybe you could sell some of the clutter from your basement on Kijiji and give the money to a food bank. Maybe you could babysit a few times before Christmas and donate the money to your favourite charity. Maybe you could open a Tupperware account or a doTerra account or a Norwex account or a Barefoot Books account and give the profits from your first party to the cause of your choice. Get your kids involved, even. Are you homeschooling? Running a little business together can be a great learning experience. With the holidays coming up, people are looking to shop anyway.

And speaking of shopping…

Please check out the Barefoot Books website (affiliate link). You’ll find beautiful books and other goodies like puzzles, cooperative board games, and more. I’ve sold Barefoot Books for years as both an ambassador and a store retailer, and I’m continually impressed by the quality of their products.

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