Being Present – The Gift of Time

It’s time for our fifth annual 12 Weeks of Giving.  Actually, our annual family tradition kicked off a couple of weeks ago.  Each year I try to share several of the ways we give back to our community.  Some things include donating our time, whereas other ideas include donating our resources – whether monetary or items we may have on hand.

Volunteering can sometimes be the easiest way to give back.  Donating your time won’t break your bank and you can make a huge impact by serving.  We all know time is precious, therefore finding ways to serve your community as a family is a great way to get quality time together while making a difference.

Last week my son’s school asked for volunteers to help run the Fall Fest.  As parents we often get busy with our daily schedules, work and maintaining our homes that we may get distracted from being present with our children.  It may not seem like much but by being present and showing up for your kids, you are giving more than anything money can buy.  I was able to help our local community by running a game at the Fall Fest and my family joined me.

Part of the time I ran the game the kids enjoyed the festival and played games on their own.  Then the other half of the time they were right there beside me helping out.  I didn’t even have to ask.  They enjoyed volunteering with me and it was a great bonding experience.  The game we hosted was a Nerf shooting game.   The kids would help collect the Nerf bullets after they were shot, stand the targets back up and refill the Nerf guns.  I had a great time working at the festival.  Plus, I got to see a lot of smiling children wearing adorable costumes.

Except this costume wasn’t very adorable.  My son dressed up as a scary clown for Halloween this year.  He was so eager to be dress as something frightening.  I have a feeling he wanted to dress scary because he is trying to face his own fears of scary costumes.

Another way that I was able to offer my time to my daughter this last week was by helping her with her costume for work.  She worked at Sonic this Halloween and all the employees dressed up.  She went as Waldo from Where’s Waldo.  I thought the costume turned out really well.

I made her tutu to go with a few items we picked up at a Halloween store.  The braid on the side, her tutu and the girlie glasses gave the Waldo costume a feminine flair.  I told her I was going to make her dress as a candy cane this Christmas and pass out presents.  All the red and white…. it can serve a double purpose, I think.

How will your family give back this season?  Count down the last few weeks of the year with us and share how you are being mindful in giving back.  Leave a comment or join the conversation on social by using the hashtag #12WeeksGiving.