It is spring break! Bob is home and Bill and Mary Lee ( his brother and wife) are visiting from Virginia and we have already ad some deep talks - such good people to be related to Tomorrow they will meet the new babies - Hooray! THey smile so softly when they hear about those little ones. Even though it was cold and wet today, I saw more blue bonnets. I hope the rain really brings out the wild flowers.

I hear stories of peple's anxiety and suffering around economic issues every day at work. And yet I feel hopeful. I keep seeing this crisis as something to push off against, not something that will swallow us. The following story 9from the White House blog both highlights the problem and feels solution focused.

courtesy of the LA Times:

Chris Schultz breaks down as he worries that his younger brothers will become homeless because his family is four months behind in rent.

Evelyn Aguilar's home was foreclosed, so her family is among a dozen people sharing a one-bedroom apartment.

Victoria Gonzalez may delay college for a year to support her family.

These students, all 17, and 14 of their classmates tell their tales in "Is Anybody Listening?", a nine-minute video made by students at Village Academy High School in Pomona. The production quality is minimal; students speak directly to the camera in front of a blue background, laced with footage of foreclosed homes, abandoned storefronts and others advertising going-out-of-business sales.

But the tales of families dealing with the economic crisis are deeply personal.

This week, in his first major speech on education since taking office, President Obama described the video and spoke directly to the Pomona students.

"I am listening. We are listening. America is listening," the president said. "And we are not going to rest until your parents can keep their jobs, your families can keep their homes, and you can focus on what you should be focusing on: your own education."

Although the subject is dispiriting, the story of how the documentary came to be made at a low-income yet high-achieving public school -- and ended up in a speech by the president -- is extraordinary. Read the rest, or watch the video.