Paying it Forward

Family of 5 weathers economy with 7 housemates

I spent the better part of my teenage years in a dual household. Four adults, four kids, five rooms and two bathrooms. Shared expenses, extra-large meals. Making it work together when alone we would have failed. It wasn't paradise, and likely not what any of the adults had in mind when they imagined building a life. There were squabbles, and turf battles over who could discipline whom or whose turn it was to do the dishes.

But that made us stronger, and contributed to our ability to collaborate for the greater good. If you look closely, you can see it in each of us.

That's what really touched me about the Frankel family and the ways in which they have expanded to pay it forward at a time when such generosity is desperately needed and difficult to find. Austin Chu calls the Frankels "an example of America at its best", and he is so right. We all have worries about tomorrow, about making ends meet, about caring for ourselves. How much more rewarding, then, to turn survival into a team effort and come out so far ahead that mere survival turns into thriving.

Today is not the day that all news will be good. There is so much wrong with our society, or economy -- our world -- that it will be a long time before the headlines scream positivity. That makes it all the more important to embrace these fleeting examples of real hope for our future. These are the lessons that we should tuck away and pull out to teach the younger generations the importance of connecting with others. Apathy is a disease, but it can be cured.

Rants and Raves home