This is one of those, “wish-I-had-known” kind of things…

Why is it that I waited until after I had my kids before I started volunteering? Or maybe I should say, started volunteering more regularly. As if I have more time now than I used to? What was I thinking?

Since having kids, I’ve spread myself thin, volunteering at every (limited) opportunity I have had, as a coach, Girl Scout troop leader, at school events, for the town, etc. Book fairs? Check. Theatre week? Check. Holiday Shop? Check. I think at first I felt obligated – like it was expected. So of course it felt like a burden. Doesn’t the school know I don’t have time for a tutorial on how to shelve books just so I can help in the library once a month? Doesn’t the town know that coaching meetings for kindergarten soccer probably aren’t necessary because these kids are going to spend way more time digging in the dirt than actually playing soccer? I’m a busy working mother juggling a million things – I can barely catch my breath long enough to do laundry!

Pause.

But you know what? Everyone is busy. It’s not as if other people have more time than I do, it’s that they make time. I have spread myself thin, yes, but what I have realized in the process, and it sounds so cliche, is that I may actually be getting more out of volunteering than I am giving. The opportunity to give back has had a surprisingly profound effect on my own well-being. 

By no means is it easy – if it was, what’s that old saying? Everyone would do it? It.is.time.consuming. And given time is our most invaluable asset, something we can’t buy, create, or negotiate, our ability to control it is limited. So it becomes about how we choose to spend it.

I think it was Fred Rogers who so beautifully said, “You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are.” So choose with your heart and you can’t go wrong.