Community Cafe

 I took the day off work and took part in a Community Cafe. This was led by Robin and Fatima. Robin was the creator of this concept. She was so humble and caring. She came from a very small town in Hawaii. She was from very humble roots. She was raised by her grandmothers. She said there were children without homes but no one was homeless. She said there were people without food but no one went hungry.  I took in every word she said because everything she said seemed to have meaning and intention.
She also said:

If children have happy people in their lives they will generally be okay."

This is so true. It doesn't matter if that person picks them up from school in their pj's with a big gulp in hand.  If that child is greeted with a smile and treated kindly then the outcome will generally be okay. BE HAPPY. Make sure that your face reflects what you want someone to feel. SHOW EMPATHY. CONNECT. WELCOME and SHARE.  I listened and I started thinking of the systems, the theories, the research and couldn't believe how the research backs up all the things she, as a humble lay person understood and was trying to implement. Community cafe's are a way to get people from all walks of life from the superintendent to the labor worker to share life experiences and the way we can work together to strengthen families and gain more connections to the community!