All done, it's been fun!

Day 100 -- Snowed in by Blizzard but organizing guitar and MoverMoms from home computer

How can we expect our children to know and experience the joy of giving unless we teach them that the greater pleasure in life lies in the art of giving rather than receiving.
James Cash Penny

Day 99 -- Organizing future MoverMoms projects

"Never doubt that a group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has."
---Margaret Mead

Lots of plans for the coming year - hoping to improve the organization, so planning ahead....couldn't do it without the help of others in the group.

Day 98 -- Guitar club organizing and more community outreach for basketball

I am running out of time because there are only two days left. And I have more than two quotes to share with you. So today I'm sharing three, rather than writing at length, other than to say Guitar Club is very popular and I'm thrilled to be starting at Bannockburn - there does seem to be a strong desire for it.

"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son."
---the Talmud

"One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something."
---Henry David Thoreau

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can truly help another without helping himself."
---Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 97 -- Chaperoning Field Trip and Gift Wrapping for hospice organization

was taught that the world had a lot of problems; that I could struggle and change them; that intellectual and material gifts brought the privilege and responsibility of sharing with others less fortunate; and that service is the rent each of us pays for living, the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time or after you have reached your personal goals.
Marian Wright Edelman

Day 96 -- Deciding where to give end-of-year donations

"To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving."
Max Beerhom

Each year near the end of the year my husband and I give small donations to certain non-profits, usually about 5. It's always so hard to decide which to give to, but then again, it's always such a pleasure to go through the deicision process, as we get to see and learn more about many great organizations.

There are so many out there that are doing good work, by helping the homeless and other underprivileged people, providing medical care to uninsured, protecting the planet, finding cures for diseases, teaching people about art, music, and history, and so very much more.

I can see how being head of a foundation that gives away money to non-profit groups could be a fun and rewarding job -- wish I got to learn about these and give every day!

Day 95 - Making Gingerbread houses with children and moms

"No gift that is given in good faith to a worthy recipient can be called small; its effect is so great."
---Buddha

Tis the holiday season - and everyone I know seems to be super busy with the usual stuff but also with getting gifts for family members, friends, teachers, and others whom they like, love, or just feel deserve a present of some sort. Yet the whole process seems to be very stressful, when in truth almost any gift, no matter how small, will be appreciated and considered a kind gesture.

In part that's why today's project was so fun - it wasn't about gifts or gift-giving but just having some young children and moms over to be together in the holiday season. We made gingerbread houses that were anything but professional. Some even collapsed, but even when that happened, the kids seemed to enjoy the rebuilding process. And as it turned out, there was an educational component - terms like stuctural walls (graham crackers), mortar (frosting), house foundation (again, frosting or graham crackers) and other building or architectural words were thrown around, thereby increasing the kids' vocabulary. The whole process may have even gotten a couple of them interested in learning more about construction or interior decorating.

But most of all it was just a fun way to gather during the holiday season :-)

Day 94 -- Baking for holiday staff appreciation

"The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

Mitch Albom

Day 93 -- coordinating guitar club and doing MoverMoms work

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
---Buddha

When my daughter told me she wanted to take guitar lessons I looked into private lessons and was like "yikes" when I heard the price - about $40 per half hour. I know many teachers are deserving of this but didn't feel like we have the budget to spend that. So I looked into the possibility of organizing group lessons and am now in the process of signing kids up for the class.

That's where this quote really rings true. It's taken nothing away from my daughter to take lessons in a group setting, and yet now the opportunity is available to many others.

Day 92 -- Taking friend shopping

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
---Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this quote and have it framed on my desk, as to me it really says it all when it comes to living a worthy life.

Today I had the privilege of going shopping with a friend who is very wise, a woman getting up there in years but youthful in spirit who cannot drive herself to far away places. So I took her to a fancy mall and we walked around and shopped.

I was sure I'd buy nothing whereas I think she had hoped to buy shoes or perhaps a skirt. As luck would have it, I made several small purchases and she bought zilch! She has exquisite taste and mine is, well, not as exquisite. So I bought things like perfume and candy.

Usually shopping is low on my list of preferred activities. But to go with such a classy person who also happens to be super nice - well that's not a chore but rather a treat!

Day 91 -- Helping at Media Center/Library at Elementary School

“You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.”
---Eleanor Roosevelt

Today I substituted for my friend who is a regular volunteer at the Elementary School Media Center, which of course used to be called the library but now has enough technology in it in addition to books that I guess this name is somewhat accurate.

Still, to me the books are by far the attraction. I love being surrounded by books, whether they are children's books or adult books. I love browsing especially at the non-fiction and biographies, and even the reference books. Fiction is a little less appealing to me at my current stage of life - not sure why, just maybe because I haven't found the right fictional books to read lately, except for Ulysses, which was a huge challenge but interesting to take a stab at!

It was wonderful to see the children so enthusiastic about reading and so excited to be allowed to pick out their two books of the week. Some of them are exceptional readers - way better than I recall myself being at age 7 or 8! But it was fun to see that some of the authors, like Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary, are still popular - and good to know that high quality writing for children doesn't go out of style!

Oh, and the reason I chose this quote is that I saw a biography for children of Eleanor Roosevelt on one of the shelves. I admire her so much - she's definitely one of my heroes (heroines?).

Day 90 -- Helping at the high school writing center

"Imagine."
---John Lennon

Today I returned to the writing center and got lucky because there were several kids there needing help with papers and college essays. I say lucky because sometimes there aren't enough kids needing help and I really enjoy reviewing the papers and trying to offer helpful suggestions (though when it comes to critiquing fiction, I'm not sure my 17 years as a professional non-fiction writer are of much help!).

I reviewed one student's analysis of a controversial film and another student's essay about leadership for a Christian college. Both students had clearly worked hard on their papers and it was inspiring to see them doing their best to have a good final product. One is not a native English speaker so writing in the English language is especially challenging for him. I had the dilemma of telling him each mistake that he made or letting some go by the wayside when I thought the overall concept was clear (I tended to opt toward the latter, though I was picky about spelling!).

The Writing Center is a very impressive place - and I really enjoy going there. You can often get to know a teen via his/her writing, see creativity right before your eyes, and in an hour feel like you are really helping out.

Day 89 -- Medley

“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

---Jacob Riis

My daughter was home sick today, which of course is never fun. So hard to watch a little kid be uncomfortable, as she was. Seems like probably it's a stomach bug but hard to know yet....

So today I did a medley of things --organized a small holiday party for some moms and young kids, took initial steps to coordinating basketball team outreach to community elementary schools, worked on a MoverMoms upcoming event and on getting coordinators of different projects.

None of these things really add up to too much individually but all are part of my general goal to be a participating member of the larger community. That's what I love about this quote, given to me by a friend who is also the girls basketball coach. In the context of volunteering, it means that we take on the big projects and do them successfully because of all the little projects and details that we focus on much of the time. We make a big difference over time by making a smaller difference on a day to day basis.

Day 88 - Volunteering at Elementary School

"It is not enough to understand, or to see clearly. The future will be shaped in the arena of human activity, by those willing to commit their minds and their bodies to the task. "

---Robert Kennedy

Today I volunteered at the local elementary school and once again was so impressed with my daughter's teacher and with the school itself. Having seen the movie Precious last night, I appreciate all the more being in a school with such wonderful and supportive teachers and staff, and with families and students who are so devoted to education and learning. There seem to be no shortage of volunteers at this school, and I know that strengthens the school and helps build a community of caring and involved parents. A few might say overinvolved, but to me it's so worthy of people to give their time to helping the kids succeed. It truly does take a village to raise a child, as the saying goes (did Hilary make that up or did she just make it famous - I think the latter), and exhibit A of that concept is right here at Bannockburn Elementary!

Day 87 -- Making list of shelters for neighbor

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
---Eleanor Roosevelt

Today I made a list of organizations that my neighbor could contact for her bat-mitzvah project. She is collecting blankets to donate to people who may not have enough of those to be warm this winter. I just love that idea and so admire the way she and other kids make community service an important part of this religious milestone.

Teens in general, and even younger kids, are so much more aware of community service and volunteerism than I and other people my age were as kids. It's become cool to help others, and while volunteering in a foreign country is still considered more exotic than doing so locally, there seem to be are tons of kids of all faiths and backgrounds involved in an impressively huge range of projects depending on their interests.

In other news, I saw Precious on Sunday night with the Movie Club - wow, what a powerful film. If ever there were a movie showing the need to help others and to reach out to people who are poor, homeless, and desperately in need of finding someone who cares about them or who can mentor them, this was it. It was both depressing and inspiring, and certainly a film that stays with you for a long time after leaving the theater. I if you haven't already seen it I encourage you to do so.

Day 86 -- Baking for High School Teachers

"Whatever you are, be a good one."
---Abraham Lincoln

Today I baked for the high school teacher holiday goody bag effort, and will probably do something similar over the weekend. I was supposed to do a gift-wrapping project through MoverMoms, which was being done on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a wonderful organization.

But there was a good problem -- too many volunteers signed up, so I was not needed and instead did some writing work and was able to meet a deadline. Thus my fallback activity was baking, as it seems to be (or else cooking) when I don't have another project lined up. I guess we're all good at different ways of giving, and we must tap into those whenever we can. I love to cook and bake so I turn to that activity. I also seem to be able to find lots of stuff around my house that can and should be given away to good causes but due to inertia or laziness on my part just stays put till I have incentive to do a one person or group collection drive!

Bottom line: do what you enjoy and are good at when it comes to community service, and you will not burn out or lack for ideas!

Day 85 - Coordinating Mom's Movie Club

“A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.”
---Eleanor Roosevelt

Today I did my monthly coordinating of the Mom's Movie Club. I started this in 2000 when I realized that I wasn't seeing nearly as many movies as I wanted to and thought what fun it'd be to do as an activity with other moms.

Nothing complicated or fancy - just a group of us who vote on the two movies that I choose and send in an email. After the votes are tallied (no Chicago-style - just one vote per person and doesn't matter if you vote early or late), I send out another message telling the title, time, and place where we'll meet. It's kind of like pot-luck people, since a different group shows up every month.

How do I choose the movies? Good question. It's more of an art than a science. I read the reviews and watch online the trailers of movies that sound good. Then I calculate whether it seems like one that spouses would want to see and if so, it usually is not one that I picked. We lean more towards chick-flicks and films about powerful and influential or inspiring women. Of course, romantic films are appealing too, whereas shoot-em-up films are almost never picked.

Like I said earlier, it's more art than science, but even when the movie is bad (and sometimes it really is), it's still fun to get together with a group of women for coffee (before the film) and chatting (afterwards, and occasionally during the film).

Day 84 -- Coordinating guitar class at school

"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra."
---Jimmy Johnson

Today I worked on coordinating a new guitar class at my daughter's school. There have been group piano classes and loads of other afterschool activities, but not this one.

I am pleasantly surprised at how easy it's been to organize and find people to help out, and it makes me so grateful to live in a community where people step forward to teach or volunteer or to help with coordinating so quickly.

A parent responded to my email posting that her husband could teach. The afterschool activities coordinator is taking care of the flyer and put me in touch with another mom who reserves the room. Then today I posted a message about seeking volunteers to help out in the class (since it'll be hard to have one teacher with about 12 kids) and I got very enthusiastic responses.

If you have an idea for a class or activity, or for anything that can better your child's school, I say go for it. It may not be as hard as you thing to get it up and running, and you may probably be surprised at how many people may make themselves available to help in some way.

Day 83 -- Helping at Drama Club dress rehearsal

"Life is like a mirror - we get the best results when we smile at it."
---Anonymous

Today I volunteered at the dress rehearsal for the elementary school Drama Club. All the songs are well known Broadway show tunes and the kids are singing and dancing to those melodies. Two words sum it all up: So Cute!

While helping I got to assist with costumes, pass out hats, keep kids from talking loudly behind the stage, take a few to the bathroom as needed, and best of all I got to watch the show! Sure it took 3 hours, which is longer than many of my other projects, but it's a win-win project, as I got to see a preview of the show and was able to help keep the kids (relatively) calm.

And of coure, there's nothing like seeing a bunch of smiling kids to get you smiling! (one of the songs is even 'Put on a Happy Face'!)

Day 82 -- De-Cluttering to give stuff to shelter

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
---Theodore Roosevelt

Today I did a much needed cleaning of the basement and of clothes that we no longer wear. I've got a few huge bags of stuff to donate to a local shelter, and will drive it over in the next couple of weeks. Doesn't seem like much of a project perhaps, but to me it's really good because it kills two birds with one stone. The de-cluttering is needed for basic neatness in my home, and the collecting of usable and wearable (is that a word?) stuff that we don't use is valuable because hopefully other people can use it.

I especially like this quote because it emphasizes the concept that each person contributes in his/her own way. It's awesome when you can directly help someone sick or homeless or helpless, but it's also very good, I have come to believe, to take smaller, more indirect steps towards helping people, and doing so in whatever way you can.