With the first day fast approaching, if not already here for some, it seems as though we’re all trying to get in a lot of things before the 9 months of school takes up most of our time again. Swimming, games, activity centers, and sleepovers are some of the top things kids try to squeeze in before the first day of school but I was impressed with one family I saw last week who were doing a unique family night activity – service.
There is a long chain-link fence that spans the width of about a half of a block on a near-by street. It has weeds growing all around it, collects lots of trash that is blowing around, and in general, just doesn’t look good. Last week, one family of four were outside with gloves and trash bags, cleaning up the side of the fence. I don’t think it was their yard, as their car was parked along the side of the road and one girl didn’t look enthused at all to be there, but they were making a bit of our city look a little better. They were only there for about an hour or two and when they were done, I couldn’t believe it. It looked completely different than it had earlier that day and made the side of the street look one thousand times better.
My suggestion for family night isn’t to necessarily go out and clean up someone else’s trash but just to keep in mind that there are a lot of people out there that could use our help. Christmas time is usually the time when we think of others; however, I challenge you to think of those who may be starting school with no new clothes and no school supplies or those who may be eating bread every day for every meal because that’s as much as their budget allows for food. Because I can promise, by helping others, you will feel a million times better.
