3 Year Blog "Anniversary" | My Pear Tree Home

Not Sure What to Call this “Holiday”

Do you call it a “birthday” or an “anniversary”…? I’m not sure what the correct term is, but in any case, this little blog o’mine is 3 years old. I remember like it was just yesterday…sniff sniff…they just grow up so fast. (wink)

I wasn’t going to celebrate. I might have said something in passing to my husband. Maybe.

But my parents remembered. It was super sweet and encouraging.

Why? Because Virginia is in the middle of a “shelter in place until June 10” quarantine. And because they sent flowers. If you haven’t seem my Instagram account lately, whelp…my feed is unintentionally starting to look like an “ode to the flower”. Flowers are basically one of my favorite things ever and are bringing me so many smiles lately. (What are you doing lately to stay sane and the focus on the good around you?)

Odd Way to Celebrate, But Normal is Overrated, Right?

About a week ago, my sweet friend let me know about a way to help in the Democratic Republic of Congo. You see, Congo is the birth country of one of sons. The caseworker who worked tirelessly to help them get him home to their family in the US is the director of a school there. And because of COVID-19, the need is urgent.

My friend has told me that 2 teachers at the school have died from complications with COVID-19, but that is not the only struggle the staff is experiencing. Teachers are not salaried employees and for many, money has run out. They have no money or food to feed their children. This is close to my heart because I used to be a teacher and was raised by teachers.

Hear me out- this global pandemic is absolutely horrid and is providing so many headaches for so many people right now, but at least (in the US) our teachers are salaried. This school in Congo? The positions aren’t. The children of these educators are going to bed with nothing in their bellies, they are hungry, literally starving. If I had been a child in Congo instead of a child in Richmond, VA, those teachers could have been MY parents or one of those hungry children could have been MINE (my oldest was close to 3 when I stopped teaching).

Here’s me with one of my kiddos. My kids have never had to go hungry. No child should.

With the “shelter in place” mandate, the likelihood that I will be able to go to a blogging conference anytime soon is unlikely, so I felt the Holy Spirit urging me to use the money I has been saving to support my friend’s GoFundMe campaign. And I decided to make the gift from all of us.

And Y’all- we were able to help provide a teacher with enough food for the next three months! I’m so excited about this!

Clicking & Sharing is Caring

Every click you’ve made to the blog, every share, every Pinterest save over the last couple months has made this possible. So thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support. How were we able to do this? The ads on my site generate a small income. Normally they help with paying blog bills-each month there are a couple hundred dollars of expenses for operating the blog- and also expenses from projects, but I am so blessed by readers and want to honor this wonderful community and give back. Although it’s a small way in the grand scheme of things, I’m so excited that we were able to help a fellow mama! (And just in time for Mother’s Day, too! Seems fitting, right?)

I know those ads can be a little frustrating to scroll past at times, but who knew they could also provide a teacher with food to feed their family? Makes them a little more exciting, right? wink.

Thank you for 3 years. I’m still here crafting, dreaming, and typing. I hope you’ll still be here too.