I'm a shellfish!

I was reading a story to Claire about the different types of fish in the ocean and found I related to the shellfish. The book said a shellfish has a hard outside to protect its soft, beautiful, fragile inside. A shellfish keeps its shell open but shuts immediately if it senses danger.
The book Shellfish Aren't Fish by Alan Fowler is me in a nutshell.
No, I don't live in the bottom of the ocean, but I have many similarities with the shellfish. Clams and oysters have ugly outsides, but beautiful pearl on the inside of their shell. While some people might be impressed with my outside, I believe all my best attributes are inside.
Rather than focusing on hair and makeup, I always focus on relationships and helping people out. I, too, keep my mind and spirit open, but close myself off when I sense ugliness.
The shellfish opens itself back up when danger passes it, but unfortunately, I am not that brave. Once I close up, it takes time and effort to open back up.
"Every mollusk makes its own shell. So in a way, a mollusk's home--its shell-- is a part of the animal."
Isn't that true about humans? I believe we, too, make our own shells that become part of our self.
"Sometimes a grain of sand gets inside a bivalve's shell. When it rubs against the animal's soft body, the bivalve coats it with a smooth material called mother-of-pearl."
So when something small gets inside the oyster and irritates it, the oyster turns it into something beautiful. That is something I would like to do.

Balance and Candy Corn

When I called my elderly friend Jo for a visit recently, I wrote down her grocery list. I've been buying her groceries with my own for years, but since Paul came along, it's been a little more difficult. I have to take two kids to the store every time I go. That means four hands that have to be supervised the entire time.
Also, I only go once every two weeks because of the economic crunch from my lack of income. Add to that the task of feeding two hungry kids at least five times a day and you have a basket full of groceries, exhuastion, and stress.
Because of the enormity of the shopping experience, I have started buying Jo's groceries on a separate trip. It's usually a short list, so I just run in her small local grocer and grab the items on the way to her house for a visit.
So this week she needed coffee, creamer, milk, and candy corn. Her store was sold out of Halloween merchandise. This meant I had to drag the kids to another store to buy what she wanted.
I know helping the elderly is right, but after consulting some friends, I'm going to have to put a limit on it. The message of the church is to give more, but sometimes I feel like I over-give.
I am often sent on wild goose chases for my grandfather or Jo. Either my grandfather's sight is failing, which is likely, or his local Wal-Mart is cutting their stock every time he goes. Each time I visit him he tells me about some grocery item that his store "doesn't sell anymore." For a while I wrote these items down and tried to buy them at my store, but they were never the right item.
"No, not that kind of tomatoes. There's onions in the can," or "No, that can is too big. I just can't use it."
I am now imposing a one store limit. If I can't find what is requested at the first store, then I just have to visit with empty hands. That might actually be better anyway because it would take the focus of my visit off of the groceries and onto the people.
I want to help because it's right and I enjoy it. The chase for candy corn will now stop so I can take a load off and focus on the other loads I carry.