Thanksgiving
I love the Thanksgiving holiday. I will cook for days in preparation for a family feast that may last for 20 minutes! But the leftovers are terrific!
One year I decided we should do something to help others as a way of celebrating Thanksgiving. There was a restaurant in Phoenix that prepared meals for thousands of people in need and volunteers would show up to help make the deliveries.
This was something I could do with my children as a family activity so my daughter and youngest son and I decided to participate. We showed up early and waited in line. When it was our turn, we were given boxes with Thanksgiving meals for delivery to six different locations. I was glad we had our minivan.
Our first stop was to a small home where you couldn’t get to the front door because it was so overgrown. The outer fence was locked and rusted. Our instructions said to knock on the neighbor’s door because the elderly woman who was to receive the meal would not come to the door. The neighbor explained that she was a shut-in and had not been out of her house for years. He was the only person she trusted. He would take the food and get it to her.
As we left her house, my children and I were silent. Then all at once, the questions started. How does she live like that? How does she get food or medicine? Doesn’t she have any friends? It is so sad!
My daughter wanted us to adopt this woman.
I was so glad we had volunteered.
The next four deliveries were to people who were also definitely in need; a young single mother with a handicapped child, an elderly couple who was delighted by the meal but even more delighted by the company and wanted us to stay and visit, and two other families with small children.
As we drove to the last address, we talked about how happy we were to be participating in the program. But most of all we talked about how fortunate we were in comparison to these families.
And then we arrived at the last delivery. It was a half-way house for men re-entering society after having been in jail. A young man was hanging over an upstairs railing and yelled, “It is about time you got here. Where have you been?” I have to admit I became extremely nervous since I was there alone with my children and there were at least six men of various ages hanging around. They did not fit my definition of needy.
Another man identified himself as the manager of the house and took the food from us with a curt, “Thanks!” I have to admit I was somewhat stunned.
As we drove off I was both sad and mad. My children and I had shared the experience of meeting and helping people in need. Why did it have to end this way?
And then my son said, “Mom, did you see the two guys upstairs? They were waving to us saying Thank you!” My daughter said, “They’re nice and they needed food too. Maybe they will be a good influence on the other men.”
It struck me that while I was seeing what was “wrong” with the experience, my children were still experiencing what was “right” with it. When we sat down for our Thanksgiving meal that evening, it was truly a time to give thanks.
It reminded me that you are never too old to learn from your children.
ACTION STEP
Find a local charity that needs volunteers and share the experience of volunteering with your children. It may help to have your children select the charity that is most appealing to them. Having some “say” in the experience may aid in their engagement in it.
Leave a Reply