kittenmmm's blog post - Shades of Gray

I did something the other day that I would normally say goes against all my principles, ethics, morals...whatever you want to call them.
I work with someone who is a single dad. He has two children under the age of 12 and he receives no supplemental aid or support from their biological womb. I can't call her a mother...but I guess that's what she technically is. She's a deadbeat mom. You don't often hear about them but they do exist.

He works over 8 hours a day plus weekends often but he's on his own as far as the rest goes. He also manages to pay child support on a child he had from a previous relationship. He was heating with a particular utility last year and fell behind on his bill. He's since changed his heating method but this other utility is just as necessary.

Needless to say he found himself in a bind and the utility company shut his services.

I'm not sure what motivated him to come to me (I certainly haven't been there as long as some others and probably don't know him as well) but he asked me to call the utility for him and pretend to be his ex-wife to get the service turned on in her name. He knew he could pay the bill off but that it wouldn't be done this month and they wouldn't turn it back on until his bill was paid in full.

Normally I would say no way to something like this for a number of reasons...least of all how I would feel if someone were using my information to get services. However, the more I thought about it the less I could deny him. The children needed this utility to live decently, this man is by no means a wasteful spender, winter is quickly approaching, their mother is NOT fulfilling her parental obligations (in fact she doesn't even live around here so she doesn't even contact them)and he doesn't ask for any handouts. He needed help and the kids needed help.

I got his service turned on the next morning. I was a wreck calling but I moved through the episode with apparent ease I guess. The joy, relief and thankfulness on his face made me think that I had done the right thing in this case.

Sometimes it's not all black and white is it?

pondering ethics and shades of gray
kitt xxxx

ps...I had to delete the repeats...good God...what was that all about?