Talking Like a Grownup

Today I took photos of a wedding. This was the first wedding for which I've provided photographic services for someone OUTSIDE my family! I wasn't super thrilled with my camera performance (the lens isn't the best for anything but up-close-and-personal shot), but I had a great time, got some nice shots and spent the day with lovely people.

One of those was "D."

The project:
Speak with "D" like I'd speak to anyone else in the room.

Time:
10 minutes

Why bother?
Why wouldn't I? Well, not very many people outside his family were. "D" has severe cerebral palsy. His body is twisted by the disease, but his mind is all there. Anyone who paid attention could see that pretty quickly. He has a sense of humor, and while his specialized wheelchair and spasticity may be daunting to many, he's human and needed to be included.

The place was pretty crowded, and there was a lot going on. D spent much of the time on his own, watching the world go by. Sometimes he seemed forgotten as we lined up family pictures. I don't know about you, but I hate hanging out at a party with no one to talk to. It's so uncomfortable. To live a life of exclusion would be tragic.

We have some friends who have a son with mild CP. I guess that was my first contact, and education, about the disorder. It's not a disease. It's not contagious. And not everyone who has it is completely disabled. Our friends' son is incredibly intelligent, vocal and talented, and you wouldn't know he had CP unless you saw him run. The leg braces help him stand, but they also make regular kid play kind of tough. He doesn't care. He runs with the pack.

Worth it?
Absolutely. I'd forgotten to ask anyone what his communication set included. But when I started talking to him it became pretty clear. We established, for instance, that he really enjoyed the cake and would like more, if I could find a family member to grab another plate for him. We also established that he was quite interested in the girls his age. Go "D!"


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Website Maintenance

The project:
Maintain website for nonprofit organization

Time:
20 minutes today, but countless hours since building the site

Why bother?
When I joined TriCity Sound Chorus, a charter chorus of Sweet Adelines International, existing leadership was interested in a web presence. Using VERY crude software tools, I'd created my own ugly website, but knew I could do better. With proper software, a steep learning curve, countless hours smacking my forehead and plenty of persistence, I got it done. Now it only takes a few minutes each month to update the site.

Worth it?
Yes. I usually enjoy learning new things, and the chorus has been pleased with the site. I like to think it may also be helping to spread the word about barbershop for women.

Freecycling

The project: Donate items to others through Freecycle.

Time:
30 minutes posting, responding to e-mails and, in one case, waiting around for someone to pick up an item.

Why bother?
I had posted several items for sale on Craigslist and offered them up to local friends. Most of our friends' kids are older, so these things didn't appeal to them. (Or maybe these items just didn't appeal to them.) Usually I run our stuff down to the thrift store that supports our local shelters, but for whatever reason I decided to experiment with Freecycle.

How it works: You sign up for your local Freecycle list (free). You post your goodies. You either deliver or arrange pickup. Your garage/playroom/spare closet is cleaned out. You're no richer, they're no poorer, the landfill is no more full, they're stoked, you may be, too.

Worth it?
In a matter of hours it was all over. Kids' toys they'd outgrown (or not used in a year) and other household items had been taken, often with grateful smiles, by people who swung by to pick up. I never had to leave the property.

So, why did I feel not so great about this?

First of all, I have a hard time getting rid of the kids' things. They still want to keep EVERYTHING, but they have too much to fit in our house, too much for any kid really, so much they can't keep it cleaned up (in part due to size of house and limited storage space in relation to their goodies). Yet they don't play with EVERYTHING because, even for a homeschooling family with extra spare time on our hands, there's only so much time in a day. Too many toys, not enough time. I figure, if I haven't seen them play with it for half a year, it goes in the big box in the garage. The box is accessible to them so they can pull things back out if they want them. If those items go untouched for 6 months or a year, then the kids are finished with them.

Second, we usually either sell stuff on Craigslist (I've given up on EBay - too costly and cumbersome) or donate our stuff to the shelter store. I don't feel bad about giving up perfectly good stuff because I know it will go to another grateful home for very low cost and also benefit our local shelters of various descriptions.

So why do I feel unfulfilled by Freecycle? I think it has something to do with the whole setup. Everyone who grabbed our goodies had: a computer, internet capability, in many cases internet on their cell phones, and cars (sometimes newer, nicer cars than ours). Any of these people could have afforded the $10 to $20 I had asked on Craigslist, and certainly half that price they would have paid at the shelter-supporting thrift store.

I think I'll stick with Craig and the thrift store.