Service

There are many different ways to give.  You can give money to the homeless person on the street corner, or you can give your time to help a youth with a project.  I don't give money to homeless people very often, but that doesn't mean I don't give. In fact, I try to give a lot of service to others.  I usually don't talk about that service, because unless there is a reason for telling you about it, doing so would only seek to to make myself look good, and that is NOT the reason we serve.

I think about the people that I have served, bringing in meals, taking people places, helping people with projects, cleaning houses, the list goes on. Those people will probably not remember me, and that's okay, but I will remember them. I will remember the good feeling that I got when I helped them.  Sometimes it is not even something that I made that I gave them.

My husband spent a very long time at trauma ICU at UNM Hospital. I don't live in the area anymore, but when I went back, I wanted to do something for those people sitting in trauma ICU with a family member in serious condition. I was staying in a hotel so I couldn't make something in my own kitchen for them.  I instead went to Sam's club and bought a box of 24 cupcakes and took it up to UNM Hospital.  When I started giving out the cupcakes, people were unsure of me.  They were looking for my motive.  Some people wanted to know how much I wanted for the cupcakes. I explained that my husband spent a long time up there, and I just wanted to do something nice for them.  They seemed surprised.  I guess I might have been surprised too. It's the small things that we do in life that are the best.

My husband was Santa this year.  He got to go to the local children's hospital and visit the kids in the most sick part of the hospital.  It was a way that he could give back a little. Honestly, I think that expereience changed his year.

One of my friends took a day off of work to come and sit with us at the hospital.  Kids were not allowed back in the rooms, and my daughter had her son, who was just learning to walk with her there. My friend sat with the baby while we went back to the room. It was such a kind gesture, and so needed at the time.

I cannot tell of all the times I have served or all times I have been served, even by people who did not know me, but I can tell you that if you are not doing something for someone else with no thought of payment or getting something in return, you have not truly lived.  It is the best thing that you can do.  Look for opportunities, and get out there and do something.  It changes you.