"Filled up and Poured Out..."

We baked brownies today, but didn't eat any of them. We turned out cookies by the dozen, but not one made it to the cookie jar.

As part of a week-long program at Church called 'Sipping From a Hydrant', our family learned more about the gift of giving today. Took a small drink, as it were.

Brought up within the realm of community service ourselves, it was no stretch for either Yukon or I to accept the challenge of doing something to help our Anchorage brethren. Our main criteria in choosing a project, however, was its involvement of all three of us, sometimes difficult when factoring in a four-year-old. And the Super Bowl.

We decided on baking cookies, but went one step further to drive home the reality of the number of people in Alaska who are hungry today, yesterday, and probably tomorrow.

As soon as we got home from church, Bear, Yukon, and I began working on two batches of brownies and dozens and dozens of snickerdoodles to deliver to the Anchorage Rescue Mission this afternoon, just when the line begins forming at the door. In Anchorage, there are never enough cots for the hundreds of men and women who call sidewalks, park benches, and doorways "home" during the day. One woman always catches my eye. Sitting on a busy corner underneath a pedestrian overpass, winter, summer, and every season in between, she sits in the dirt. Sometimes she catches my eye, sometimes I can't bear to look at her. Today she wasn't there. In fact, she hasn't been there for a few days.

Just after Kickoff, we left our home, fragrant with cinnamon and chocolate, and drove to the Mission, which smelled of stale smoke, sweat, and a lifetime of tears. No fanfare, just a 'God Bless You' and a few smiles from the collection of characters gathered near the front entrance, cigarettes in hand.

As we went to get back in the car, Yukon's foot kicked an empty vodka bottle; Extra Dry.

Very dry, indeed.

Bear asked afterwards, "Mommy, did we share?"

Yep. Poured out.