February 5, 2008

No news today. I was just thinking about Alma, one of our moms. Of course she is single. The father of her sons makes occasional appearances in her life, but he doesn’t help her. She and her sons live in a one bedroom basement apartment. She drives a 12 year-old Caravan, which we playfully refer to as El Junque Numero Uno. I have a 10 year-old Caravan, which is El Junque Numero Dos. She’s always ready to laugh–and she never asks us for anything, even though we suspect her need is greater than any of our other mothers. Even though she doesn’t ask, then, we meet her once a week and give her a small supply of groceries and diapers. She always wants to meet us; she never wants us to come to her apartment. We’re not quite sure why this is. Perhaps she is simply embarrassed about her living conditions; or maybe she’s afraid that the father will be there when we visit and that we might condemn her for his presence there.