A lesson in patience

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LaCresha Green's life is a lesson in multitasking, and waiting.

The 21-year-old single mother of two juggles looking for a job while taking care of her children, without a place of her own and without a car. She takes the bus to get around. On days when she doesn't have bus money, LaCresha walks when the weather permits and when she's up for it.

Where LaCresha goes, so goes her stroller with baby daughter La'Shea in tow. Not far behind, or sometimes a few steps ahead, is Davion, her four-year-old son.

No matter what, these three are a family. They've carved out a section of Cedar Rapids that is their home. From the place they sleep, in the apartment the three share with LaCresha's mother, to their path along First Avenue, to the Wendy's where LaCresha often spends hours waiting to pick up her son from school, this is home.

I remember the first time I met LaCresha in September. She was running just a few minutes behind to our appointment at 2 p.m. at the Young Parents Network. She called them to let them know she would be late for the meeting.

As she got settled in the room around the large table at YPN, staff found some toys to keep Davion busy. He was loud and rambunctious, as many four-year-olds likely are. I could see after a half an hour visit that it would take a great deal of patience on LaCresha's part to manager her son.

Flash forward to now, and her patience and ability to remain calm are still present. She's used to doing things for herself, and often, doing them alone. As we made our way into the building where Davion attends school, Jim, our photographer, reached for the door to open it for her. But LaCresha, baby stroller and all, had already made her way through.

"I'm used to doing it on my own," she said.

Upstairs, with the baby asleep in front of her in her stroller, and Davion occupied for another twenty minutes, LaCresha had some quiet time to finish a job application she started earlier in the afternoon. It was strange to be around her and hear quiet. I wondered how long it would last.

Not long. Soon, the children filed up the staircase back inside after playing outside. With the cold setting in, Davion's teacher brought the students inside to finish off playtime before school ended at 3:30 p.m.

Before long, it was time to bundle Davion up again in his winter coat and hat to head back outside, to go home.

Stronger Together, our look at poverty and the working poor in Eastern Iowa, has provided me with many learning opportunities so far. Patience is one of them. It doesn't take long to make a judgment about someone you don't know, hurrying across a busy street. It's much harder to take the time and effort to get to know someone, to really find out their true story.