Dear Addie,
…and then it was back to the grind – well, kind of.
With the beach behind us, we were back home, barely unpacked and already on the go. In full disclosure, my bag is still zipped up and sitting on the floor in my bedroom. What happened to those few days that we like to reference as “vacation from our vacation” to regroup – somewhere along the way I think I misplaced those? Well, no time to dwell on rest from what was supposed to be rest, with Daddy edging his way back into his work travel schedule and a week and some change before the school year officially starts, Clara and Gabe had planned and were off to volunteer in our community for the week, leaving just the two of us together for a good portion of the day. What to do, oh what to do?
With Clara and Gabe out volunteering, our family motto kept ringing in my head, “One Team, One Dream.” You see Addie, that OTOD motto is strong not only at home in supporting and helping one another, but it also carries through in our daily lives – within our community, hence Clara and Gabe giving back this week.
An opportunity came up independently for each of them, and they without hesitation jumped at the chance to help. There was no parental pressure, it was just organic – the way it should be. To say I’m proud might be an understatement, but you might also be wondering why they would even choose to spend their last moments of summer doing this? The answer is surprising simple – it’s a two-way street. Everyone wins, but there’s no medal or trophy – it’s a different kind of victory. It’s a victory for nothing.
Sounds weird right?! It has actually been statistically proven that people who volunteer have shown great improvement to their physical and mental health. Reducing stress, combating depression, and providing a sense of purpose are only some of the great benefits. The skills you learn, the confidence you gain, the purpose you feel will help you in just about every avenue of your life.
If you think about what “work” is (the kind you get paid for…) how beautiful to do something that ultimately helps someone in return? That purpose you can feel in volunteering and helping others can overflow into your work life and it won’t feel like “work” – you’ll continue to feel fulfilled and joy in the job you are doing.
I pray everyday that you will all love what you do in life, so it will feel less like “work” and more like being part of a much bigger OTOD of helping others. Daddy is a beautiful example of this with the passion and love he has for his job helping others. It really helps him too because he loves what he does!
But I digress…
The first couple days of volunteering and both Clara and Gabe were exhausted…didn’t stop them from talking a mile a minute about their day and all the stuff they did, learned and saw, but they were legit exhausted. Both were very sweaty and in desperate need of a shower at the end of each day, asleep before 8pm and up before the sun excited, eager and ready to do it all over again.
Their buckets were filled. They felt purpose with nothing tangible to hold when all was said and done. An invisible reward if you will. Everything a parent wants to see from their children. It got me thinking that I really wanted this feeling for you too. But what could you do to help others?
Well with a blistering heat wave hitting our great state, anything strenuous and outside for you just wasn’t going to be in the books this week. Add our COVID numbers heading in the wrong direction, and being around a ton of people didn’t exactly seem like a good idea, but here’s the thing Ad volunteering doesn’t have to be this huge, extravagant task.
Volunteering is about helping others and sometimes just a simple act of generosity and kindness can help others feel a sense of joy and happiness that maybe they didn’t even know they needed. You never know Ad, the joy you give someone could turn into a ripple effect as the recipient may seek out ways to continue spreading the joy they felt from you. Pretty cool huh?!
This brings us to mommy and Ad spreading joy to some of our fabulous neighbors and friends through sweets – I mean really, who doesn’t like a good cookie?! Let’s get baking!
Our task at hand was two-fold in it was planting a seed for you in how to help others in a simple way, as well as developing some life skills of reading & following directions with plenty of fine motor practice to boot 😉 We get it in wherever we can.
You mixed flour, sugar, butter like a pro and things only took a turn when it came time to crack the eggs. I tried to show you how to actually tap the egg and crack it in half rather than your favorite and seemingly quicker SMASH method. Not sure it really sunk in as your focus was elsewhere when you repeatedly tried to just shove the raw egg in your mouth.
We don’t crack eggs with our teeth Ad – STOP EATING THE EGGS!
We baked, packaged and even wrote a note for each recipient. This was going really well, that was until it was time for the delivery…
Being this was showing you how to give back, I wanted to make sure you were part of the process from start to finish and I wanted you to physically deliver them to everyone’s front porch. Side note: it was 97 degrees and with the heat index it felt like 108 - crazy hot!
We got out of the car, I handed you the cookie package, and we both walked up to each porch. This is where you thought you’d take matters into your own hands as I instructed you to “gently set the cookies on the front door mat” you heard “throw them at the door!” I think it’s safe to say our delivery execution needs a little work Ad. I can only imagine what you were thinking, “It’s too hot for this, let’s just get this over with – I shall hurl the cookies up on to the porch!”
Never a dull moment Ad.
So, we did our best to give back this week. I know you may not have fully understood exactly what we were doing, it may have even seemed like we were doing something for nothing, but perhaps a seed was planted and it will register organically one day as it did for Clara and Gabe.
Addie just know, the nothing can be worth so much more than you know in the end.
Great job Ad.
Love,
Mom
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