How Much Time Do You Waste?

At publishing, I've had 155 people look at this blog today.

Most of you come to read the hideously ridiculous or embarrassing exploits of my single life. Some of you are curious about someone who would actually write about their silly, sad, and vulnerable moments. The rest of you voyeurs are interested in the comings and goings of someone you know/may have once known.

Well, today I want to get a little serious, so y'all are going to have to wait another day for another confession.

I had the pleasure and honor of spending some of my Saturday with some local children who are far removed from the love and comfort of a wholesome family life.

These are kids who spend their days at a local facility that takes care of, feeds and clothes them. Around 40 children ranging in age from six to 14, all ticking off the days until they either make their way to a loving home or grow up and escape to their dreams of adulthood.

In the meantime, they spend lots of time longing for something better, and that's exactly what I tried to do with a couple hours of my time.

I showed up in jeans and my sleeves rolled up, ready to get dirty - we were bringing with us icing for frosted cookies and puffy paint to cover some little canvas bags. We had all kinds of crafts and games planned to shed a little sunshine on some children in dire need of a heaping helping of TLC.

Most of my time was spent at the word search table. We had several different games and puzzles and things for children of various capabilities. During my time there I talked to one teen about his cool gelled up mohawk and his passion for the Cincinnati Bengals. I met a young girl who wants to be a teacher and discovered she has an aptitude suited for her dreams as she helped another child finish his own word search puzzle.

My heart pretty much melted when one of the older kids bubbled over with appreciation and enthusiasm for the fun she had over the course of our two hours there.

Two hours.
Five volunteers.
A few bucks in supplies.

That's all it took for us to make a great moment for nearly 40 kids.

And I really don't know who had more fun, the kids or us volunteers.

I started this volunteering thing this spring when I realized I waste too much of my time. Sure, I have a demanding job and spend some time at work off the clock to get stuff done. I try and keep a well rounded social schedule, too, and also have to take care of silly things like exercise, cooking and home maintenance.

But a couple hours a week?

I can scrape that time together to try and change a life, or at the very least, make somebody a little happier.

And that somebody might just be me.