Tonight, I'm ringing the Salvation Army bells with my oldest daughter. I'm so glad that's she's doing it with me. I'm glad that's she's bucking up and braving the cold night that Nebraska is going to throw at us during our two-hour stint out. I'm most glad she's volunteering, though, because my hope it that this is something that continues to resonate within her for years to come.
I hope she always volunteers. I hope she always sees the need. I hope she always sees that there are many things that she can offer others.
This isn't her first time on the volunteering front, but it's her first time doing something volunteer-wise with just her old man. That's pretty cool in my book because these opportunities are going to come less and less in the coming years. In just a few weeks she'll be graduating high school and setting out on her own. She'll be making all her own decisions and choosing where to spend all of her own time. Volunteering will only be one of many choices that she has in front of her. So, for these two hours tonight, I'm going to cherish the experience, and I'm going to remember it many, many Christmases from now.
Personally, I'm grown quite fond of volunteering in my advancing years. Whoever said "it's better to give than receive" first was a smart man or woman. It is. I suspect that this will always be true.
Hell, I realize it doesn't take a lot to stand around and ring a bell for a few hours and then head back to my warm house and crawl under my warm covers. I realize it doesn't take a great deal of intellect or know-how to bug people a couple of times a year for their extra dollars and donate it to a good cause. It doesn't take any special skills to gather up some clothing for those who need it or slap some food on a tray for people who need the nourishment. But that's kind of the point: anyone can pull of volunteering, and really, everyone able should be doing it.
Like I wish for my daughter, I hope for myself that I always see the need and that I see that which I can offer.
I hope she always volunteers. I hope she always sees the need. I hope she always sees that there are many things that she can offer others.
This isn't her first time on the volunteering front, but it's her first time doing something volunteer-wise with just her old man. That's pretty cool in my book because these opportunities are going to come less and less in the coming years. In just a few weeks she'll be graduating high school and setting out on her own. She'll be making all her own decisions and choosing where to spend all of her own time. Volunteering will only be one of many choices that she has in front of her. So, for these two hours tonight, I'm going to cherish the experience, and I'm going to remember it many, many Christmases from now.
Personally, I'm grown quite fond of volunteering in my advancing years. Whoever said "it's better to give than receive" first was a smart man or woman. It is. I suspect that this will always be true.
Hell, I realize it doesn't take a lot to stand around and ring a bell for a few hours and then head back to my warm house and crawl under my warm covers. I realize it doesn't take a great deal of intellect or know-how to bug people a couple of times a year for their extra dollars and donate it to a good cause. It doesn't take any special skills to gather up some clothing for those who need it or slap some food on a tray for people who need the nourishment. But that's kind of the point: anyone can pull of volunteering, and really, everyone able should be doing it.
Like I wish for my daughter, I hope for myself that I always see the need and that I see that which I can offer.
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