Hold a Stranger's Baby

The project:
Hold a woman's cold, wet, howling, beautiful toddling boy so she could get a shower.

Time:
10 minutes

Why bother?
Have YOU ever tried showering in a communal shower while tending to a baby? How about trying to bathe that baby when said shower is the only means of personal hygiene offered? Now add an incredibly dry, dusty, group camp setting, open-air shower and temps dipping into the 60s and you're in for a real treat.

This mom was doing her best, but the babe was clean, and the mom still needed her turn. She couldn't hold him and get herself clean, so she let him stand next to her. He was NOT pleased. He was COLD. And, insult above all insults, WATER was getting into his eyes! (Oh the INHUMANITY!)

I'd only managed to get my undergarments on before finally breaking down and chipping in, but I tend to be a pretty warm body, even in an open-air shower, still damp and in cooler temps. More importantly, however: I've been there.

I asked where his towel was. She pointed the way. I scooped him up and wrapped him, then stood within HIS arm's reach of his mom.

Worth it?
Absolutely. He was still unhappy, but he wasn't so cold, and actually started to settle a bit once he started warming up all bundled in the towel. And if his mom was half as stinky and filthy as I was before hitting the shower, I'm CERTAIN she was happy for those moments to take care of herself!

Cook Dinner for Seven

The project:
Cook dinner for seven at camp.

Time:
About half an hour? (We're camping. Who keeps track?)

Why bother?When we camp, Dad and I usually coordinate our menus. This trip, an aunt and uncle were also along. While we weren't able to get super coordinated with them ahead of time, our meal included plenty to feed the whole troop.

Worth it?
Yes.
It's just such a pleasant, social thing to share a meal. Coordinating the table was a bit of a stressor for me since our tiny table fits about 4, and I hadn't really thought that far ahead! But Dad pulled a table out of nowhere, and everyone contributed something to the meal, the table setting or the conversation.

Educate a Grocer

The project:
Teach a grocery store dairy employee about the products he sells.

Time:
10 minutes

Why bother?
Everyone should know what they're selling.

When I approached the wall of dairy products at our local market, the stocker was busily filling and facing the shelves. He stopped to ask if I needed help finding anything.

"Do you have any real yogurt," I asked.

He looked at the wall of products, most of them appearing to be yogurt, in front of me. He didn't need to SAY anything.

"Yes," I said. "I know those are supposed to be yogurt, but do you know what's in them? Do you know how yogurt is made?"

So, in a matter of seconds I explained the yogurt making process. Then he picked up one of the containers.

"Then what's all this stuff," he asked.

"That's filler and flavoring and I'm not sure what else."

He picked up another; examined its contents. Then another. As I explained that his store USED to sell yogurt, and I've been waiting for years for it to include at least ONE true yogurt product.

He looked around the shelves.

"I guess we don't have it."

Worth it?
Yes.
But still...I'd sure like it if my neighborhood grocery store carried YOGURT - milk, cultures, and maybe some real sugar to soften the blow to the palate - nothing more.

Photo courtesy D. Keddy under Creative Commons license.

Shared Aquatic Knowlege

The project:
Teach fellow swimmers how to do flip turns (aka "the somersault thingy" swimmers do when they reach the walls and have to turn around)

Time:
15 minutes

Why bother?
I was squeezing in a workout at the local pool. Two guys in the next lane waved me down and asked me to show them how. Why not?

Worth it?
Yes.
It was a fun distraction from the mundane workout I'd planned for myself. Sharing boosted my energy and made the rest of the workout more fun, and they continued practicing and cracking themselves up even after I left the pool.

The Headlight Dilemma

The project:
I tried to help. Really. I did.

While playing in a fantastic oak tree at an intersection where one country road diverges, three work trucks pulled up. Two workers crawled out of the cab of the first truck, grabbed their shovels and loaded into the second truck, consolidating the ridership and leaving the third truck behind.

Alas, in the parked truck, they left the headlights on.

I tried to turn off the headlights, but the truck was locked solidly.

Time:
A few minutes

Why bother?
It's a bummer to return to a vehicle with a dead battery, and ever so simple to just turn the lights off for someone - if they leave the doors unlocked.

Worth it?
Unfortunately, no, because I couldn't achieve my goal!
There was a time not so very long ago when people left not only their car doors unlocked, but their windows wide open. I've turned off COUNTLESS sets of headlights in my day. But our fear of having our things stolen from our vehicles, or the vehicles themselves taken, has made this simple effort to help a relic.

Photo courtesy QFamily under Creative Commons License.

Giving a Grown-Kids' Perspective on Divorce

The project:
Share my appreciation for both of my divorced parents' conscious decision not to bad mouth one another in front of their child, and help a new divorcee understand the importance of keeping it all above board when the kids are around.

Time:
20 minutes

Why bother?
I was talking to a father who is currently going through the final throes of divorce. They have two kids, about 8 and 10 years old, so I got to thinking about my own parents who were divorced early in my childhood. While they really didn't care much for each other at all by the time they split, I don't recall ever hearing either of them saying an unkind word about the other during my childhood. Sure, there were trying times between them, but my parents did their best (and boy was it GOOD) not to talk trash about each other, even when the opportunity lay before them like a yellow-brick road.

It's too bad that so many couples don't last, and that my parents' circumstances weren't better. But I am thankful for the efforts they made - they did the best they could. I thought maybe if I shared this part of my story, this newly single father would remember someday if, in the heat of the moment, he considered trashing the children's mother within their earshot.

Worth it?
Realizing how much effort parents put into their children comes somewhere around, oh, never. But certainly since I've had my own kids, and grown up a bit myself, I can certainly see it more clearly. Sharing the lessons they taught me through their actions - certainly worth it if my listener takes heed.

Illustration courtesy Donna62 under Creative Commons License.

Day of Rest

Considering yesterday's post, I suppose it won't be a surprise to you to read that today I actually followed my great grandparents' advice - on the seventh day, I rested. I slept in a bit, worked on a book I'm writing (thus the late posts to this blog at times), played with my girls, read to my girls, fell asleep on the couch reading to my girls, woke up listening to my GIRLS reading to ME, and basically didn't leave the property again.

The most restful two days I've had in I-don't-know-how long.

I also recently read about and sent for the Seed-A-Need cards. It's a neat idea, kinda like geocaching or GoodReads in that you track your efforts online and read about those who follow, but in this case it's all about doing for others and seeing where that leads. Maybe it's just what I need to see how my efforts may (or may not) be making a difference.