Putting Todd in a Box

Tomorrow night, I will be sleeping in a cardboard box. Outside. In the cold.

DuPage County is lucky enough to have an organization called Bridge Communities that helps homeless people get not just handouts but a means to climb out of their struggle. They get financial counseling, inroads to jobs, etc. Eventually, they are on their own feet again and even become homeowners. It's a neat program. Every year, Bridge's big fund and awareness drive is Sleepout for the Homeless. Our church participates. Three years ago, the youth group boys pointed out that the homeless do not have tents to sleep out in. And so, our tradition of sleeping in boxes was born.

I built my box last night. It's not quite done yet, but I am proud of it. It has a door with a seal and a pulley system that closes it tightly. It will have insulated walls (oh yah!). And a padded floor (couch cushions). I also plan on adding plastic to keep the dew from seeping in. This is serious business.

The first year we did this, I woke up in the middle of the night freezing. I was in one of those cocoon sleeping bags where you are supposed to sleep in a t-shirt and boxers because the bag uses your own body heat to warm you. Well, I don't like that strategy. I'd rather have lots and lots of blankets and clothes.

Laying in the box that night in just my underwear caused some inner-dialogue that I'm both amused by and ashamed of.

It was about 3 in the morning. It was freezing. I was in a box. And I knew I had youth group kids in boxes all around me. I thought:

"How cold can you get before you die? At what point does the human heart just stop? Could one of my kids be dead? They might be dying. I should go check. Wait. I'm in my underwear. I'd have to run out there in just a shirt and shorts. Or get dressed. It'd take awhile to get dressed. And be cold. I could stay here. I am sure they are fine. They're young. Their hearts are strong. I'll just stay here."

QUOTES OF THE WEEK!
"Seventy percent of the world is covered by ocean. The other 30 percent is covered by the BEARS defense." -My sister.

"Am I a bad person if I don't love Lucy?" -Camerin, after watching an episode of I Love Lucy.

"Look at you all fuzzy! You look like a bear." -Fleener to a co-worker in a big sweater.

"I asked Mom how Landon's first Halloween was going and she said, 'He's the cutest trick-or-treater ever.' I asked Chad and he said, 'He won't stop screaming and he peed his pumpkin outfit.' " -My sister.

"It's only cool to pee in your pumpkin outfit when you're an infant. Now, not as cool." -My sister.

"Wait a minute. Whoa, there it was. I brought my sexy back. Oh. It's gone again." -Fleener