Paying it forward to other Mom’s.

The beautiful thing about not having children at home isn’t the freedom from picking up after someone else.  The beautiful thing about not having children at home is now I have the time and opportunity to give back to a community that I was only able to take from when my kid was small.

When Sunshine was a baby we were as poor as church mice.  It was the early nineties, her dad was in law school and I literally couldn’t find a job as an accountant during tax season.  The recession of the early nineties was in full swing and we were feeling it.  I mean, we used to eat TUMS for dessert because they were flavored.  No joke.

There were two things we splurged on: cable tv and long distance.  Long distance, because we both wanted to stay connected to our family, and cable TV because it was the cheapest entertainment we could afford.  We didn’t even have movie channels.

What we did have, however, was Public Television and we watched it.  Back then, there wasn’t a huge amount of programming for small children, but Sunshine could watch Sesame Street, learn something —for free— and be entertained.  We loooooved Elmo and Bert and Ernie.

But, I always felt guilty during the annual tele-thon because there was no way I could afford to pay for the privilege of letting my baby watch these great shows.  I mean we once had to take her out of a day care because they raised the rate by five dollars a week!  A lousy five more dollars a week wasn’t in our budget.

Roll the years forward and I have the means to contribute to Public Television, finally I can pay back all those years when all I could do was take.  And let me tell you, it’s a great feeling.  Even though I personally don’t watch a lot of television, I know that somewhere out there is mom who’s trying to provide her kid with the best life she can give them, and letting them watch Public Television —and learn for free—is the best thing she can do.  Even if she feels guilty every time that tel-a-thon comes on.

But, it’s okay!  Because there are moms like me who remember being moms like her, and we write that check with pride and a sense of paying it forward.  Because we are.  We’re moms helping other moms, because that’s what we do.

If you’re an empty nest mom who would dearly love to give back and needs a place to start, I humbly suggest Public Television.  They still have great programming, and in today’s economy they need all the help they can get.  And just think, somewhere out there you’re helping another mom educate her kid.

How sweet is that? ?