Day 18 Happy Halloween

Today, I bought healthy treats (apple slices, carrots and pretzel/cheese snacks) for my son's 'harvest party' and spent an hour or so in the classroom. It really bugs me that they can't even call it halloween. The kids couldn't dress up. I'm so tired of the fear of offending someone dictating every facet of our lives. I know this is not a positive post, and not in the spirit of giving meaningful service, but that's my two cents for the day:)

Day 17

Today, I spent two hours with my husband while he put a motorcycle back together. I visited with the lady who owns the bike. She likes to talk. I'm a good listener:)

Day 16 Haircut.again.

Today's service was giving a haircut to both of my sons. Again, possibly not outside the normal realm of parenting, but I'm counting it just the same. :)

Day 15 Are you ready for some football?!

For Monday's service, I took a Seahawks fan (who also happens to be one of my best friends) to watch the Seahawks play Monday night football at a theatre. We had pizza and soda and watched an amazing game. The opportunity was presented to me by the car dealership where I bought my pick-up a few months ago. It was a sort of customer appreciation thing. I was happy to include my friend and we had a great time together.

Day 14 blood, sweat and tears

Ok, so no real bloodshed to speak of, however, today's service did involve much sweat and some tears. I was asked last week to give a talk in Sacrament meeting. While public speaking does not usually cause me angst, I had serious butterflies while up on the stand. It is always good to get positive feedback, and I was especially glad to know that my talk did uplift and inspire some.

Day 13 Laundry room-drop your drawers here

My service today was to do my son's laundry for him. Is this outside the realm of normal parenting, enough to be considered a service? Ordinarily, I would have to say no, because a mother should provide clean clothing for her children, along with shelter and food. In this case, however, I am considering it a service because this particular son has been relegated to do his own laundry since he turned 12. He also received a cell phone at that time, and in our home; privileges are not given without responsibility. He was a little behind on his laundry this week, however, so I did it for him.

Day 12 $

Today's service came in the form of a monetary donation. Short and simple sometimes is best:)

Day 11

My service today included a donation of food and water bottles and my time to the 5th grade family fun night and spaghetti dinner. I had a migraine for most of the day, so I was glad to have already bought the food and signed up to help set up-otherwise, I might have been perfectly happy to stay home and do nothing:)
The neighbor that I carved a pumpkin for yesterday showed his appreciation by bringing over a small cake and cupcakes tonight. (Which the kids really enjoyed!) He said that he sent a photo of the pumpkin to his mom in Boston, and she loved it. That makes me so happy!

Day 10 bringing Boston To Washington

In an effort to make my daily service more meaningful, I have tried to be observant of those around me. Our neighbor stopped us to say "My Red Sox are playing in the World Series!" He was so excited about it, and sad that he isn't there rooting them on in person. So, I got a pumpkin and carved the Red Sox logo into it for him. He looked so happy. I thought he would put it on his front step, but he took it in the house with him:)

Day 9=treat police

My 10 year old (Seahawk head) had cub scouts pack meeting tonight. His den was to bring treats. He baked a pan of brownies, which I cut REALLY small because there did not seem to be enough to go around last month. When we got there, I noticed that there was only one other plate (presumably brownies) on the table. I excused myself and went across the street to get some cookies. Toward the end of the meeting, I raised my hand and announced that I had hand sanitizer that I wanted the kids to use before getting ONLY ONE TREAT in an orderly fashion. One of the dads came up and said, "So I guess you're the treat police, huh?" I'm not sure if he was kidding or not, but I proudly said, "Yes, someone needs to be."  I don't want to be THAT mom. You know, the one that is bossy and makes sure everyone is polite and orderly and has the common sense that is apparently not-so-common. However, it was evident after last month's meeting, that these kids need someone to lay down the law. I have noticed that all too often, adults are hesitant to say anything to kids that are not their own. Some of the kids are well-behaved, but most of them are quite unruly. It takes a village, it really does. I have no problem putting a child in his place. I do it out of love and respect. So my service today is not the brownies or cookie. My service today was striving to instill a modicum of respect and manners in these young men. So I may be the treat police to one dad, (or to the whole group-who knows?) but there is a chance that someone saw me as a person who cares enough to demand respect.

Day 8 more soup

I have wanted my service to others to be more meaningful. One way that I decided I could do that would be to be more observant. Today, I noticed that my neighbor across from me seems to be home alone. He is a younger guy-probably mid-20s. I think he lives there with his parents. I noticed that his mom's car is gone, and he didn't park like he normally does to make room for it. So, using my sharp deductive reasoning skills......I figured with his mom being gone, he might need some dinner. I employed my hubby to go ask him. My hubby reluctantly obliged. He took a homemade 'pumpkin' breadbowl full of soup over to him.
We also delivered a candy-gram thank-you to some friends of ours. I don't really count that as a service, since it was a thank-you.....however, it did put a smile on their faces:)

Day 7-there's a bird on your head

I don't really know if I can count yesterday's activity as a service, but I am marking it down:) My 10 year old was in need of a haircut, and we have seen a lot of cool haircuts that have the Seahawks logo shaved into the hair. I have always cut my boys and my husband's hair-but nothing fancy. I mean, I don't even use scissors! Well, I thought I might be able to perform this artistic do on my boy's head. I looked at some pictures and video online. It looked simple enough-for a professional. Since I am nowhere near the pro category, I told my son, "I'm just going to cut your hair normal, I don't trust myself to do the logo." And then it happened. My little boy said something that gave me all the confidence and pride I could muster. He said, "I trust you." Ok, well, that's it then. If he believes in me, then I can do it! I shaved the Seahawks logo into my son's hair. Well, I shaved a poor rendition of the logo into his hair;) But, he loves it, and was so excited to show it off-particularly to his teacher, whom he really thinks the world of. So I don't know if it's fair to count the artsy haircut as a service that I gave. I really feel like the unwavering confidence that my son has in me was the real service here. I am blessed beyond measure. It seems like a little thing, but it is huge. It confirms to me that sometimes, it doesn't take a huge gesture to show someone you care, or that you believe in them. "I love you" are 3 powerful words. Yesterday, I discovered how powerful "I trust you" can be. I think I'll use those more often.

Day 6-yes, soup for you

Today, I made soup for a craft activity/lunch at church. As it turns out, I also made lunch for tomorrow for my family:) This past week, I spent several hours of my time volunteering for a few different organizations. My presence, while appreciated, was not mandatory. The event or activity could have very well carried on without me there. Perhaps not as efficiently, or quickly, but it would have carried on nonetheless. My goal for service next week will be to make my service efforts more personalized. I really want to make a difference. I want to provide service that only I can do. I think it will be more meaningful if I do that. Tomorrow would by my oldest son's 16th birthday. I will begin my quest of more personalized service to others in honor of him on his special day. I need to make sure that my motivations are out of a pure love of Christ, and a want to be more Christlike. I will strive to be more prayerful in seeking out those in need.

Day 5 The dance

After selling tickets for the Middle School dance earlier this week, I was privileged to be able to chaperon the 'black out dance' tonight. Truth be told, I didn't do a whole lot-but I didn't embarrass my son either-so I think it was a success! I was pleasantly surprised at how many parents were at the dance. It gives me hope that there are lots of kids out there that give their parents a pass instead of an eye roll. Although I would like to be able to be a philanthropist, I love having the ability to give of my time. But in the end, I think we'll find it really is all about time anyway.

Day 4

Today's service was uneventful. I volunteered my time at Caleb's school again selling tickets for the dance tomorrow night. Monday, we sold 15 tickets, today, 113. I love watching the kids interact with each other. I look back at my own Jr High days, and I see so many similarities. Hair styles and clothes are slightly different, but all in all, not much has changed. My presence at the school today was not necessary to the success of ticket sales, by any means, however,  I do hope that Caleb knows that I am there because I love and support him. That would be my measure of success; that my son knows how important he is to me. The small glimpses I got of him at lunch mean the world to me. I know that not all moms have the time to spend at their child's school. I also know there are some who have no desire to volunteer hours at the Middle School. There are probably MANY kids who don't want their moms there. I am grateful for the opportunities that I have, my desire to be present, and mostly, for my children who welcome me into their world.

Day 3 We have water.

Well, I have been praying for God to let me know where He needs me. Yesterday, I received an email asking for help at the local food bank. So today, I spent 3 1/2 hours there handing out food. There was never a lull in the line of recipients. Several of the people are homeless, and as the weather turns colder and colder, I just wonder how they survive. One of the biggest needs for the people that are homeless is water. I know that we all reflect on our lives and we know how very blessed we really are-but to think of not having something so simple as water? Well, that just breaks my heart. I was humbled today, as I know I very well should be. We are having a tough go of things right now, but I saw at least 100 people in our tiny little town today who are most definitely worse off than we are. We have a home. We have a car. We have a pantry and refrigerator full of food. We have a warm bed. We have access to technology and education and medical care. And we have water.

Day 2

Today I gave a couple hours of my time to chaperon my third grader's field trip. We went to the Salmon hatchery in Issaquah, Washington. The hatchery has 2 full time employees and one part time. Everyone else at the hatchery is a volunteer. That is astounding to me. At a time when our government is literally shut down, I witnessed a fully functioning operation that relies almost solely on the generosity of people. Scores of people give of their time and talents to educate others about one of our area's resources.  We should all be so willing to give of our time~that one thing that is precious to everyone. The salmon is admirable as well. Always heading upstream-no matter the obstacle-ever with the end in sight.  “… It’s in the nature of the human being to face challenges. We're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream.” ~Neil Armstrong~

Day 1

Today I volunteered at Caleb's school for 2 hours and sold tickets to an upcoming dance.  I was able to meet some of Caleb's friends-particularly the one that invited him to a birthday party this week-end at Great Wolf Lodge. Today was neon day at the Middle School-and it looked an awful lot like my jr high did in the mid 80's:) I thought it was interesting to see that there are still uniquely defined social groups.  I was able to meet a couple other moms that volunteer and/or work at the school. I'm scheduled to sell tickets again on Thursday. Happy Monday!