Habitat for Humanity

I've spent a lot of time over the last six months thinking about what I want to do with my future. While I have been very blessed to have so many wonderful things in my life, at 42 I've come to realize to that if I want to make changes I better start thinking about how I'm going to make those changes.

One of the areas in my life that I feel has been neglected is volunteering. By nature I'm a giver, however for the last few years I've been giving so much to my career that I don't have anything left over for volunteer work. While I have been incredibly blessed with a wonderful career, it isn't as fulfilling as knowing that you've made a difference in someone else's life.

Now that my kids are older and not around as much, I'm at a spot where I can start cutting back on my hours I've decided to make volunteering a priority. Two weeks ago I mentioned that one of my goals was to finalize a couple of volunteers dates. I thought I'd share with you what I've been up to.

This afternoon my mom and I spent the afternoon serving lunch to a crew at a Habitat for Humanity build. For those of you unfamiliar with Habitat for Humanity, it's wonderful organization that helps families get a house of their own. Families meeting the criteria go through a selection process that enables them to buy a home at a fraction of the normal cost.

Habitat for Humanity homes are either built or remodeled with the help of volunteers and donations. The families themselves must put in so many hours of sweat equity to qualify for the house. The fact that the families are so involved in the organization is one of the reasons I support Habitat for Humanity. These families aren't getting a hand-out, their getting a hand-up. They in turn help other families get a hand-up. It's a win-win situation.

My mom and I decided to serve lunch since neither one of us are incredibly handy with paint or hammers. Push comes to shove I do know how to use a hammer, it's just a lot of hard work! Serving lunch to the crew was pretty satisfying. I was a little embarrassed by how appreciative they were, especially since they were doing the hard stuff!

We ended up buying a variety of buns, lunch meats, potato salad, tomato salad and cookies to serve, My mom also brought her specialty, chocolate covered strawberries, they went over exceptionally well. All in all it was a really satisfying experience. We're tentatively scheduled to serve again in a couple of weeks, I'm thinking brats may be in order for that day. We'll see.

If you are looking for a way for you and your family to give back I would encourage you to look into volunteering at your local Habitat for Humanity. Knowing that you are helping a family to get a home and getting a chance to meet that family first hand can be pretty satisfying.

What are you up to this weekend?