Pajamas

Had lunch today with my friend A, who was pretty in her pink and black tennis outfit. She's still "chasing that little yellow ball," as she says. We went to one of the newer local restaurants, Panera. Cute little cafe with tables and booths, with a menu of soups, salads, panini, and other interesting sandwich combinations. There was also a huge selection of fresh baked breads and rolls, scones, pastries and cakes.

We each had half a sandwich and soup, both delicious, but we skipped dessert. Sure was tempting, though, but when you look at those cakes and start calculating how much you have to exercise to work off the calories, the desserts lose their appeal. Plus, there's Easter chocolate in this house, so I'm trying to avoid "outside" calories when I have enough calories right here under my own roof.

Speaking of the roof....... my husband was up on our screen-porch roof this afternoon, cleaning out the gutters and adding new caulking to the roof seams. With the recent heavy rains, we've had a few leaks on the porch. The caulking is original, and is about six years old now, so I guess the summer sun has dried it out in parts. I bought my husband that tool-box this past Christmas... he's been doing handyman chores ever since, both here and at Mayberry. Coincidence or not?

And speaking of pajamas...... on Oprah's show the other day, there was a segment about The Pajama Program, started by a woman in New York City to fulfill a need-- getting brand new pajamas to kids in shelters and group homes. She started out with a dozen pairs of pajamas, and to date has given out thousands upon thousands, along with story books for each child in need. When I was watching that show, I went through a few tissues, and when the show was over, I went on-line to Oprah's web-site and found out how to donate money to the program.

We also donated money to the man who has been delivering books and building libraries in remote corners of the world..... another segment of that same show. He used to have a top job with Bill Gates, but he quit that to set up his non-profit organization for the books and libraries. His theory-- if you don't educate the children, then history just repeats itself. Another admirable cause.

But the pajamas and bedtime story books..... that just stayed with me. Probably because I used to do reading with the kids at our local school here, as did the founder of "The Pajama Program." (That's how I met our young Miss C so many years ago.) Somehow, just donating money for the pajamas didn't seem like enough. I talked to my husband. I talked to A over lunch today. I went back to The Pajama Program web-site and clicked on everything and read every word. There are chapters of this organization popping up all over the country, but none in this area. Closest one to here is in Austin. Not close enough to help the kids here.

I read all the particulars about starting a chapter. My first thought-- I can do this. I sent them an eMail... they eMailed me more information....... I eMailed them my phone number..... and now I'm waiting for them to call me and tell me what I need to do to get started.

On the Pajama Program web-site, one of their ideas for a small fund-raiser is to invite friends over for a party and ask each person to bring one book and/or one pair of children's pajamas. With all the parties and dinners that we have at our house during any given year, I can easily collect lots of books and pajamas that way. We have a great, large group of friends and I know they would be more than happy to bring a book or a pair of cute pajamas for a child. But I've got other ideas as well... the possibilities for this are endless.

Comfy pajamas and colorful storybooks for kids...... what a great idea.