Things We Can't See About Others

Most children who grow up with immigrant parents have a few memories that they carry for the rest of their days.

This is one of mine - showing up to my first picture day in 1979 a little overdressed relative to my Grade 1 and 2 classmates. Bless my mom who I’m sure was wanting her only son to look his best for such a memorable day.

Later that same year, I brought home a note from my teacher asking my parents to send me to school the next day with some sort of pin for a school activity. Not having a dictionary in the house, my mom neatly wrapped a few safety pins in a cloth for me to take to school.

It turned out that the teacher asked all of us to bring rolling pins to roll out dough to make Christmas tree ornaments. God bless my mom for doing her best and my teacher at the time for understanding the mix-up.

We may never know what another person’s upbringing looked like and what limitations they faced and continue to struggle with.

I reckon that the more we remind ourselves of this, the more natural it becomes to root for and help those who are struggling.