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Parenting journeys and adventures

Giving

My husband and I often disagree on what we consider giving... to me this quote by Kahil Gibran captures our differences in a nutshell. “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

We have such different views on life, maybe it is because.... I am from Venus and he is from Mars? Extrovert vs. introvert? European vs. American? I could go on listing our endless differences, yet at some point we met and came together, and so I believe that we will come together in our ways of giving, because you cannot have one without the other. 

I thrive on connecting with people while he helps others by sharing resources, at the end of day we both give in our ways. Interestingly enough, my approach on the topic of giving is completely opposite from his, yet complementing. In talking about our differences, he made an observation … something along the lines of “now it will be great if you could figure out a way to give to the poor or these in need”.... that made me question my efforts to help these less fortunate than myself....  

During the last month my little one and I have been engaged in a number of activities that I define as giving. They include volunteering, and community service/involvement. We went to help out a lady that recently lost her husband to a sudden heart attack and a few months later gave birth to their second child. She is not a friend or an acquaintance. I heard about her via a friend, who helped to organize a support system for her. She set up a “Care Calendar”where people could sign up for different activities/items where help is needed (i.e playdates, yardwork, grocery run, etc).

Baby G and I signed up for a play-date, and a meal delivery. I figured that we could provide some entertainment for the older baby boy if nothing else. Baby G can be a little shy and takes time to warm up to others....I never expected she would stand by me and quietly play, while I took care of the infant.....  It was magical to have a living room filled with 2 tots, and an infant in my arms while the mom got a chance to shower. I left feeling fulfilled, uplifted and grateful to be reminded that giving is truly receiving.

We also participated in the assembly of donated snacks for the elderly on fixed income. We helped with the assembly of the holiday gift bags. Even though I brought toys and there were other kids around, she wasn’t comfortable in letting go. It was up to me to find an activity that would keep her close to me. Together we hand made cards... however, this time our efforts were short lived due to the unexpected diaper explosion :(  

Our most recent adventure was to help a friend approaching the last month of pregnancy, confined to bed rest, with a two year old son. Imagine a ball of energy, and curiosity roaming around the house while you are on bed rest?    

There are many ways of giving back to the community and contributing to other people’s quality of life. Some prefer to give through non profit organizations because they may feel that they need more structured ways of giving and want to minimize their personal exposure.

Personally I enjoy involving the family, and have my little one with me. I find that it is never too early to learn about compassion and social responsibility through community service activities. Hence, my New Year resolution: “I will continue to seek out opportunities to make a difference in peoples’ lives, on a regular basis, and explore ways to do this with “A family Village”.

In the meantime, I am trying to recruit my husband to come along in my adventurous way of giving and sign up for one activity on the Care Calendar …...

“Would you prefer making a dish or playing handy man?” wink, wink nudge nudge

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