Volunteering

Yesterday I did not have the best day. I will not go into the details because that is not the point of this blog. But, let's just say that I was not in the best mood leaving work. Every Tuesday after work I volunteer at Children's National Medical Center. I love it, but after a long day in the office I'm sometimes very tired and not as enthusiastic as I'd like to be about it. Yesterday was one of those days but I was hoping that it would cheer me up.

I was right.  What I do when I volunteer is walk around the hospital and look for kids that might need someone to hang out with.  My first stop was to get a child a coloring book and some crayons, the family was so excited to get a simple coloring book and crayons, and selfishly, I was feeling better already.  Then I stopped in and played UNO with a patient.  Even though she beat me twice, I was still feeling better.

My last stop was to a little girls room who's nurse had asked if I could come back after she ate dinner.  So I went back up to her room and got ready to play with her.  As I was getting a gown and gloves on she was peaking out the door of her room waiting to play, I could tell, we were going to help each other. 

I went in and she had all kinds of crafts (my favorite) that she was working on.  What she wanted to work on with me was Valentine's cards that she hadn't had a chance to make for her family.  We sat down and she pulled out a huge bag of Valentine's cards, stickers, paints, and more, amazing.  

We spent an hour or so making cards for her family.  She would tell me what to write or ask me to decorate a card and of course I would oblige.  The amazing thing was that while she was stuck in the hospital she was spending her time making stuff for others, giving away her cards and stuffed animals to her family to make them feel better.

That little girl helps us to remember to keep things in perspective.  When something doesn't work out and your not sure where to go next, it's ok.  At the end of the day the petty problems of life don't matter.  The issue at work will get resolved, the paper for class will get written, the dream job you wanted will work out.  Sometimes I find myself focusing on these smaller things and I stress myself out.  My little friend in the hospital reminds me to take a step back and look at the big picture.  As long as I have my family, my friends, and something to make me happy, everything will work out.