I originally wrote this in December 2013 but it is still relevant so. Have revamped it a little.
I hope it won’t snow this Christmas
It’s one of my biggest fears.
It was so bitter last year even
Thinking of it makes me shed tear.
The homless won’t be eating Turkey with all the trim
Unless they find a charity shelter which they can get in.
The people at the shelters are angels from up above
They give their time and plenty love.
They really are saviours they really do so much good.
They give warmth and comfort, dinner and even Christmas pud.
OH! why are they out here I hear you say.
There are lots of reasons, have you got all day?
Dave got made redundant the bills he couldn’t pay
So the bank stepped in and took his home away.
His wife could not stand the B&B that the social offered them
So she took the children off to live with her mum so Dave won’t see them again.
Jen, she was cheeky girl always having fun
Staying out late and playing up in the end it got too much for her mum!
After a big row one night in the summer she asked Jen to go,
So she is struggling alone out there, when your homeless it is amazing how fast your friends all go.
Rob well his story is very sad,
It all started with his drinking then he discovered drugs. He became violent and everything turned bad.
He fell out with his mother’s boyfriend who told him he had to go
And then threw him out into the December snow.
The reasons are legion you can take your pick,
People who loose their jobs because they became sick
From parents who can’t cope
To addictions that make you loose all hope,
Parents or family who beat you, family who will not stop at a touch
They want you to give them way too much.
This may all seem morbid this may all seem too sad
I hate to tell you all, things can be so very, very bad.
People young and old see their hopes and dreams unfold and vanish in clouds of smoke
As they end up on the streets lost and without any hope.
So enjoy your Christmas parties, your families and your Yule tide fare
But as you raise a toast remember the homeless ones out there .
And also here for Crisis at Christmas
Dec 19, 2017 @ 18:34:30
Oh sis… this made me cry xxx
Dec 19, 2017 @ 18:35:59
Me too every time I revisited it I cry . Why is the world so harsh. I wish we could all be happy. But I am sorry to of upset you Hun 💜💜💜💜
Dec 19, 2017 @ 18:38:04
No you didn’t upset me… just made me think xxx
Dec 19, 2017 @ 19:08:45
It’s a hard truth. 💜💜
Dec 19, 2017 @ 19:47:18
So true…
Dec 19, 2017 @ 20:19:07
💜💜💜💜
Dec 19, 2017 @ 18:44:21
So true, these words.
Dec 19, 2017 @ 20:31:08
There are more and more homeless on the streets of Cambridge. It is very sad and must be so cold for them this time of year. 😦
Dec 19, 2017 @ 20:21:19
Yes it must be awful, sadly it gets worse every year 💜
Dec 19, 2017 @ 20:40:14
lovely if very poignant
Dec 19, 2017 @ 20:46:37
Thank you Geoff it’s something I feel very strongly about. I know you do too. I put in a link to Shelter and Crisis at Christmas.
Dec 20, 2017 @ 07:37:11
I’ve four shifts at crisis after Xmas which will be good
Dec 20, 2017 @ 11:07:02
Well done you, this is something I intend to do as soon as I can . 💜
Dec 19, 2017 @ 20:58:33
Winter is an awful time for homeless people, and the excess, superfluous, indecent spend spend spend that goes on must seem like a slap in the teeth to them. You don’t have to be homeless to see Christmas as a big pointless waste of energy. I hate it. Have done for years.
Dec 19, 2017 @ 21:09:07
I truly agree with you, the whole hype and relentless buy buy society is gross. There are homeless people out there struggling to survive. Christmas to me is full of bad memories. But we only have to cope for another week! 💜
Dec 20, 2017 @ 07:31:28
We went from being penniless students to precarious workers and have never had any money. It didn’t matter when the children were small. They didn’t care that their clothes all came from charity shops and the flea market. Same for the toys they got at Christmas. They had a lot of clothes, they were good quality and brightly coloured. The toys and books were just like new. But when they got to be adolescents, they understood perfectly well there was no point asking for iphones and such like because they just wouldn’t get them. Even though they have always said they were pleased with their gifts, thers’s always the nagging guilt that if they weren’t happy, we couldn’t do anything about it anyway. And the energy spent trawling shops and markets for something that would please that didn’t cost the earth just had me in tatters by the Big Day. This year, for the first time, we are just not going to do it. The youngest one lives on another planet to the rest of us and just goes with the flow, and the two who are the organizers are going to bring Christmas after their fashion to us. The eldest is spending Christmas with her boyfriend’s family, and the middle one is working the entire holiday. It will be different, but much much less stressful and wasteful.
Dec 22, 2017 @ 12:50:56
We did pretty much the same counting every penny and watching out for ways to economise! I admire you you as I did , did what you could. It does get harder when they get older and want what others have… Yet I find that see now what we strived to do for them. Still I don’t like this time of year…. Hey ho not long now. Bless you 💜💜💜
Dec 22, 2017 @ 13:06:56
The pressure to conform leaves scars. I hate it too and probably will for many years. I remember one year when we had friends round at Christmas and their eight year old asked to see what our nine year old had been given. Ours showed off her little presents proudly and the little bitch of a guest said ‘Is that all?’ Her mother was mortified, but children aren’t born with a list of Christmas presents that need checking off. She was taught what to expect. I was so upset.
Dec 22, 2017 @ 16:40:05
It is so sad things like that weigh heavy on our souls and take for ever to leave our minds. My boys were thankfully grateful for whatever we got them. That child sounds a little madam I wander what she is like now. 💜
Dec 22, 2017 @ 20:18:35
I expect she’s on a very lucrative university course now and probably going out with a young man who will also be on the way to career success.
Dec 23, 2017 @ 09:34:26
Who knows? We can only hope her character has developed.💜
Dec 23, 2017 @ 12:08:32
We can hope 🙂
Dec 23, 2017 @ 12:56:40
Indeed we can 💜
Dec 23, 2017 @ 13:04:25
🙂
Dec 23, 2017 @ 15:16:04
… or perhaps on the street, having been unable to support her “princess” image, and totally rebelling against society?
“The more you have…. the more you have to lose”, and some people cannot accept loss of any sort because their self-esteem is dependent on image, and if their image becomes tarnished……..?
Dec 23, 2017 @ 14:32:00
Yes , I know people who wear the best close and have a beautiful house but no decent food to put on the table….. It is sad all show , no heart. 💜
Dec 23, 2017 @ 14:37:21
She’s what everyone calls ‘level-headed’, studious, and focused—mainly on herself, it has to be said. I’d call her cold and unimaginitive, not the kind of kid who rebels or goes off the rails. She has too much of an instinct of self-preservation.
Dec 23, 2017 @ 14:49:40
Self-centred, and determined 💜
Dec 23, 2017 @ 14:52:48
She’ll get by.
Dec 23, 2017 @ 15:08:11
I was once introduced to the saying “Behind every high achiever, are issues waiting to be resolved.” While obviously not 100% correct, it has been my experience that the majority of “drivers”, self-focused individuals, high achievers… are simply displaying those traits to anesthetize something in their past. Who knows what this young lady may be burying rather than dealing with it?
Dec 23, 2017 @ 15:11:18
The higher they climb the harder they fall.
Dec 23, 2017 @ 15:16:39
That is usually the case isn’t it. Our problem is treating them with the same compassion and understanding that we would extend to others whose life is falling apart for whatever reasons.
Dec 23, 2017 @ 15:52:47
Yes we must not judge 💜
Dec 23, 2017 @ 15:53:35
🙂
Dec 25, 2017 @ 06:45:58
💜🎁🎄
Dec 22, 2017 @ 13:38:23
Children (quite naturally) compare themselves to their peers, and obviously cannot grasp the concept of inequality. It becomes a very difficult situation however, it is also preparing them for the “real world” where things are not equal. My daughter raised her daughter (my granddaughter) as a single Mom, and they too struggled. Now when I see my daughter (who has been fighting a brain tumor for many years), and also my granddaughter who also has some medical concerns, I am so proud of both of them. They both have a wonderful outlook on life and truly appreciate what little they have. In fact if my daughter gets more than she needs, she just gives it away.
Have a really wonderful Christmas. We only need a roof over our head, food and security (peace), and if we have all that… then we are still ahead of a large portion of the world, and should offer thanks for that.
I asked my daughter what she wanted for Christmas.
(Her life has limitations as a result of aggressive radiation treatments; is dependent on government assistance for income; lives in a 1-bedroom apartment in a “conservative” building; has enough kitchen crockery to serve 2 people; has no alternative to public transport; has no internet).
Her reply was priceless: “I don’t really want anything Dad, I have everything! I have family and friends, and I have a home”
🙂
Dec 22, 2017 @ 16:35:17
You have raised your daughter well. 💜
Dec 22, 2017 @ 16:42:19
We had many serious issues with her during her teens, but she turned out really good! I am very proud of her. 🙂
Dec 22, 2017 @ 16:44:08
And so you should be! As for “issues in her teens” that is all part of growing up. 💜
Dec 22, 2017 @ 16:48:19
Absolutely Willow. I am convinced that the family that claims to have no problems with their teens… really must have the biggest problems! 🙂
Dec 22, 2017 @ 16:56:08
Yes indeed and people who project the image of a picture perfect family are lying to themselves…. Happy Christmas 💜💜
Dec 22, 2017 @ 16:58:53
Denial is a wonderful escape mechanism, but it doesn’t solve anything does it. You have a wonderful Christmas also, and all the very best for 2018. 🙂
Dec 22, 2017 @ 17:32:26
Thank you Colin 💜🎄
Dec 22, 2017 @ 17:44:29
🙂
Dec 22, 2017 @ 17:47:30
😶😁
Dec 22, 2017 @ 19:17:07
You are so right about the real needs and how lucky we are compared with a goodly part of the planet. It needs a very open and healthy mind though to see that most of what is presented to us as must haves is worthless. Seems as though your daughter and grand daughter have that insight. To give our children a roof, decent food and a minimum of heat in the winter we did without TV, holidays (ever) buying anything new, like clothes, shoes, toys, books. The children never minded, were always warm, well-fed and happy. You can’t and maybe shouldn’t want anything more than that.
Dec 23, 2017 @ 09:32:54
I agree. With you and Colin. 💜
Dec 23, 2017 @ 13:07:55
🙂
Dec 23, 2017 @ 14:10:57
Great Comment Jane. Have a really wonderful Christmas, and all the very best for the New Year.
Dec 23, 2017 @ 14:30:19
I second that 💜
Dec 23, 2017 @ 14:33:47
You too, Colin! We just have to keep focused 🙂
Dec 23, 2017 @ 15:02:36
🙂
Dec 19, 2017 @ 23:02:56
It is very sad to hear people talk about those living on the street as if they were there by choice. It is nobody’s dream to live on the street and beg for food. Perhaps if those critics simply took some time trying to understand why those individuals were driven to live on the street, they would be receptive to being part of the solution… being to get them into a program with education/training as necessary so they can be self-sufficient and regain their self-respect.
Dec 19, 2017 @ 23:11:27
Yes indeed Colin, I couldn’t agree more. The two charity’s that I link to at the bottom of the post do just that and they really help. I hope my post can get people thinking this way, the way you have just expressed. Thank you. 💜
Dec 20, 2017 @ 00:55:03
🙂
Dec 19, 2017 @ 23:43:52
So sad, Willow, but I donate each year to the Durham Rescue Mission which does so much for the homeless in our area, Houses, clothes, feeds, trains, finds them jobs.
Dec 20, 2017 @ 07:22:28
Yes it is very sad, and God bless people like you who do help 💜
Dec 20, 2017 @ 01:30:56
So very sad. It’s just as bad over here. Thank you for posting this, Willow.
Dec 20, 2017 @ 07:23:35
Homeless, sadly is rife everywhere but we all can help. 💜
Dec 20, 2017 @ 18:08:25
Very sad post, Sis. It is hard to imagine just how awful it must be living on the streets.
Dec 20, 2017 @ 18:30:52
It scares me rigid . 💜💜💜💜
Dec 20, 2017 @ 18:42:36
Yes, it is terrifying. 💖💖💖
Dec 20, 2017 @ 18:44:56
Especially this time of year. I have always had a fear of being homeless. 💜💜
Dec 20, 2017 @ 18:49:10
Me too!! 🙂
Dec 20, 2017 @ 18:50:40
Really, have that fear too. Honestly even after 47yrs of marriage I still have that fear. 💜💜
Dec 20, 2017 @ 19:15:48
That is a heavy worry to carry around for all that time. xx
Dec 20, 2017 @ 19:16:43
I know it’s mad but it is there at the back of my mind!!!
Dec 20, 2017 @ 19:46:50
How horrid Sis. x
Dec 20, 2017 @ 20:46:39
💜💜💜
Dec 20, 2017 @ 22:50:14
It worries me 💜💜
Dec 22, 2017 @ 12:45:54
Thank you for the reblog 💜
Jan 26, 2018 @ 09:05:49
Very sad. It breaks my heart to see people on the street. No where to go…. https://notfreudscouch.wordpress.com/2018/01/26/homeless-and-lonely/
Jan 26, 2018 @ 13:10:24
I have read your post and I do agree, a cup of coffee or a sandwich or as you say a “Hello” goes a long way. It is a sad fact and it’s getting more common!