#ThankfulThursdays: If it needs to be done

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Last week, we met another family from our church at our local homeless shelter to help serve the evening meal. The church provided the food. We just needed to serve it.

Daughter 2 had served this summer at the same shelter. She was nervous about going back because she hated to see the children there who had no place else to be. Daughter 1, who is always so cool and pretty much knows everything there is to know, snorted and asked her, "Would you rather them be at the shelter or sleeping in a car?" She had a point, but she also had an attitude that made me wonder if #ThankfulThursdays had been effective at all.

We arrived, and we served. Daughter 1 floated between serving  cupcakes and visiting with the residents. Daughter 2 and her little friend from church (a member of the other family) visited with the residents and had a grand ol' time.

We had to serve and run because D2 and Brian had a meeting at her school, and D1 and I had a meeting at our school.

As we drove away from the shelter, I asked D1 what her thoughts were about serving at the shelter.

"It was good," she said.

"Do you have any thoughts about it?" I asked, obviously fishing for blog fodder as well as evidence that #ThankfulThursdays had not been in vain.

"What kind of thoughts?" she asked me back.

"Do you think you'd want to serve dinner again?"

"If it needs to be done, I think we should totally do it again."

And ... there was my proof.

If it needs to be done ...

Throughout the past six weeks or so as we've done our #ThankfulThursdays, I've hoped that The Daughters will grow in two ways:  That they are more grateful for the life that they have, and that they are aware of the needs of others.

Sunday morning, I was visiting with my friend Lee. Our girls are close in age and have played softball together for several seasons. She said she loved the Get Well Soon cards that we did because it was so simple and so easy.

That's yet another lesson I want my girls to know: Being grateful, serving others--it doesn't need to be a big production. We don't need to be rich to do it. We don't need to make it a huge ordeal. We just need to do what we can.

"If it needs to be done ... " Good words to end our #ThankfulThursdays.

#ThankfulThursdays: Bless The Beasts And The Children

Last week, I said we'd be serving a meal at our local shelter. And we still will be doing that--only we'll do it this week. I just looked at my calendar wrong. When I discovered that, I mentioned to The Daughters that I was off a week and wondered what we could do for #ThankfulThursdays this week.

Daughter 1 quickly piped up and suggested we go to volunteer orientation at the SPCA.  She'd been once before and loved it. Daughter 2 squealed with delight at the thought of getting to play with the kittens all day long. I was less enthused. I love animals. I do. I just love my own animals. And I've got a very soft heart, and I had visions of Brian leaving me and the thirty dogs I brought home with me on the side of a dirt road.

Nonetheless, I signed us up to be trained on Saturday, and we headed out. After training, Daughter 2 had to go to softball practice, but Daughter 1 and I returned to the shelter that afternoon.

What you have to understand about Daughter 1 is this: She's a socially anxious child. Being around people, new situations, different situations, changes in routine--these all make her very anxious. This anxiety results in angry outburst, disrespectful tones and passive aggressive behaviors. But, when she's around animals ... She's a different girl. She knows that when she loves on an animal, that love will be returned. There's security for her in that. During the time we spent at the shelter, the anxiety that is almost ever-present within my child? It was licked off of her face by a very excited doggy.

We decided to each take a dog out to exercise. When I ended up locked in the cage with the leash around my ankle, I decided to just help Daughter 1 with her doggie. We exercised him, we played with him, we loved on him, and he loved on us right back.

As we walked through the very loud kennels selecting which dogs we'd socialize, I'd read their profiles. I was saddened by how many of them read "owner surrender." I know that there are circumstances under which owners can no longer care for animals. But I'm also realistic and know that a lot of times the animals are sad castaways when they are no longer fun or cute or just get in the way. You can't claim to value life if you don't value all life.

So, for #ThankfulThursdays, think about the way you can help the voiceless animals in your society. You don't necessarily have to volunteer your time--but I can tell you this much: You will be changed.

Most shelters run off of grants and donations, receiving very little if any government funding. You could donate money.

Most shelters always have a wants or a needs list. This can include anything from food, paper towels, litter, snacks, plastic Hellmart sacks, sheets ... If you ask them, they'll tell you what they need most.

What can you do on this #ThankfulThursdays to help the voiceless beasts of the world?

#ThankfulThursday: Thirsty

Almost as soon as we get in the car to go church, across town, school, the grocery store, wherever, someone will say, "I'm thirsty."

We put The Daughters to bed and as soon as we do, we hear, "I need a drink."

I have a water bottle on my desk all day long and a cup full of ice water on the table beside me all night long. 

We are heavy drinkers, and we take it for granted. Today, I wanted The Daughters to understand that some people don't have the luxury of a simple drink of water at their disposal. We went to our favorite small grocery store and bought a few cases of water and delivered them to the homeless shelter in our town. 

"What will they do with them?" Daughter 2 asked.

"Give them to anyone who's thirsty," I answered.

"They should give them ..." 

And that's when the rules started. 

Give them to people who aren't staying the night--only passing through.
Give them out first thing in the morning. Give them out last thing at night.
Put them in the fridge so they are cold.
Leave them at room temperature so the bottles won't sweat.
Make people refill the bottles. 
Make people recycle the bottles.
Make people turn in one bottle to get another.

This wasn't the conversation I had intended, but it worked out well. This was the perfect opportunity for me to explain to them that when we give, we don't attach strings or rules or regulations. We give for two reasons and two reasons only: We want to and we need to.  

And when we give our gift, we let it go. It's not ours anymore. We have to trust that what needs to be done will be done. 

So, we delivered the water, and as one of my favorite people, Misti Pryor often says, we blessed it and let it go. That may be the hardest part of giving--letting it go without our strings attached. It's also the most beautiful part of giving.

For next week's #ThankfulThursday, we're going back to the same shelter and serving a meal with our church. Daughter 2 has done this before. Daughter 1, I'm hoping, will understand just how blessed her life is that she has a choice in what she eats for dinner. 

#ThankfulThursdays: Two For One Post

Last week was a blur. Is it finished? I don't remember much of it because we were so, so busy! Our project last week was to make Get Well Cards and take them to the hospital for the nurses to deliver to patients who could use a pick-me-up. It was evident between softball, cello, The Tulsa Run and such, we didn't get around to making the cards, so we bought them and wrote sweet messages in them.

Then, we got sick. And by "got sick" I mean, we got really. Really. Sick. All of us. The cards are signed, sealed and ready to be delivered. There was a time when I figured one of us would end up in the hospital--yes, we were that sick--and I hoped I had to wherewithal to not only take care of my family but to grab the cards on our way out the door. Alas, or Hallelujah!, we escaped going to the hospital, and the cards are still on our table. After I disinfect them with massive amounts of Lysol, we'll deliver them.

In the meantime, it's next week. Or it's this week. Or it's now. Whatever. This week, our schools launched their canned food drives.

The Daughters love to drag out our wagon and go door-to-door in our neighborhood asking for canned foods. And they'll still get to do that.

We also have a great opportunity to feed the hungry through our church.

But, I wanted The Daughters to understand just how expensive groceries can be. I gave them $10 to spend at our local Aldi's Store and told them to buy food for their schools' canned food drive.

Daughter 1 surprised me. She said she wanted to buy a meal. In her mind, a meal is macaroni and cheese. Instead, she bought two cans of vegetables, two cans of beef stew, instant potatoes, pre-made gravy, a box of stuffing and some macaroni and cheese. Of course. The only reason she bought the beef stew was because she didn't have enough of her $10 left to buy a main course. She felt good about her purchase, but also came to the realization that she'd feed a very small family one meal with her $10.

Daughter 2, however, had one motive in mind: Get the most items for her money. Her class set a goal to collect 150 items. She not only wanted to meet the goal, but she wanted to win. I'm not sure what they'd win, and neither did she, but that didn't' matter. What matters is winning.

Initially, she was going to purchase thirty boxes of macaroni and cheese. Then, she realized that while that would be thirty days of macaroni and cheese, she'd get bored of macaroni and cheese, and she put some back and bought some stuffing instead, which she would eat for thirty days straight if we let her. Then she put back two boxes of the stuffing and bought a box of spaghetti. Even though she doesn't like spaghetti, some kids do, and when Momma makes spaghetti it lasts for days. Maybe she was thinking about others after all.

So, be sure to contribute food in whatever way you can and make them smart contributions. And when this season of #ThankfulThursdays is over, remember to continue to give food. In February those food baskets are long gone, but the hunger isn't. 

For next week, we'll be delivering bottles of water to our local homeless shelter. I hope you'll join us for #ThankfulThursdays!

#ThankfulThursday: The Elderly

This week's opportunity for Thankfulness involved the elderly. The Daughters and I decided to decorate miniature pumpkins and deliver them to a local nursing home. We spent most of Tuesday night painting the gourds and then we delivered them Wednesday afternoon.

I took the girls to a nursing home where My Daddy had spent a few weeks after a debilitating stroke. I thought it would be a good time to visit with The Daughters about their Grampy, and we could talk about being thankful for our health and being thankful for long lives.

We had to be buzzed into the home and Daughter 2 wondered who was in there that was so important. Is the president's grandmother in here? Maybe a former mayor? OH! Maybe a movie star from the 80s is in here! Cool!

When we had to be buzzed out, she wondered why there had to be so much security. We had a good conversation about how residents didn't always like being there, didn't understand being there and weren't able to care for themselves if they were to wander outside the walls of the nursing home. It was a sobering lesson in the final days of life.

Since we arrived at nap time (which may be all day for all we know), we opted to decorate the tables in the dining room instead of giving them to specific residents, none of whom we knew personally. There was a couple sitting at one of the tables that thanked us for the decorations. Other than that, we received no official thanks ... and I was perfectly fine with that.

My sweet (and fuzzy) girls decorating the dining room.

It's good to do things without the expectation of recognition. In fact, we should do nice things everyday without expecting to be recognized for it. Another great lesson learned.

On the way out we noticed a post on a bulletin board asking for craft supplies. I imagine that nursing homes are often forgotten when people are looking to make donations. We have the requested supplies, so we'll be visiting them again.

Did you visit a nursing home this week? Tag your post and your pictures with #ThankfulThursdays so we can all be thankful together.

For next week: Let's be thankful for our health. Make several get well cards and deliver them to a local hospital. If there's not a hospital close by, deliver them to a doctor's office. Ask the nurse(s) to pass them out to patients who need a lift. You might also want to make some cookies or take some snacks for the nurses who tirelessly care for those patients.

Come back next week and check in--I want to hear how your #ThankfulThursdays are going!