Orphans and fatherless...

As my neighbor shared with me stories about the kids living around me, I realized that in this neighborhood and I'm sure many other across the U.S., there are two kinds of children, the orphans or the fatherless. The orphans are the kids who have their mother in the home physically, but her heart isn't there with them. She is distant, un-caring or selfish, focusing only on herself. When this happens, the kids end up taking care of themselves. As their Mom commands them, they cook the food, clean the house and take care of their younger siblings, while the Mother hangs out on the streets, lays in bed from a hangover, etc. Amazingly enough, some of these kids are the most respectful to adults because they have been forced to become an"adult" themselves. My heart breaks for these, because unlike a fatherless or motherless child, every day with their own eyes they see the lack of care their parent has for them. While the motherless or fatherless knows their parent doesn't care, but since they are not in the home, they don't see the lack of care in their every action. The fatherless have a parent in the home that may not be perfect, but you can clearly see that they love their kids and are doing their very best, while the other parent is in another relationship, dead or in jail. Even though these children have a caring parent in their lives, they absolutely need to be surrounded by other caring adults that can come alongside of the parent to help mentor that child and lead them in the right direction. I believe that kids cannot have too many caring, solid and consistent adults in their lives. The more support and love, the better.