Giving back to my community is important to me, and I really enjoy it. Some days, though, it's just a big pain. In the past, I may not have had too much trouble skipping out at the last minute on a volunteer event. Now, because I'm the organizer of our big group, I feel super-obligated to go in. So it was today. Did I want to leave my house at 7:45 this morning and drive a half hour across town to pack boxes of food? No, not really. At least my granddaughter had spent the night with my middle son, so I didn't have to bring her with me, which I would have done -- but I'm not sure she would have liked it as much as I did.
In all, our group of about fifteen people sorted and packed over 8000 pounds of food! That's amazing, and we did it in about three hours. Everyone who showed up worked very hard. We were in a warehouse with fans, but it was so hot and we worked so hard that my clothes were stuck to me with sweat. It was cathartic in a variety of ways, and I ended up being glad I went -- as I always am. One of the things I like most about volunteering -- other than the knowledge that I'm helping -- is that I find it empowering (and have seen it empower others) to find out that no matter how much or how little I (and others) have, we all have something to give. Time is the best gift we can share. (I know I sound like a Hallmark card now, so I'll stop.)
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