Day Nineteen: Planned Give & Insights

Day nineteen was my volunteer at the school day, which meant I had at least one guaranteed give built in. And again it was a sweet time. I helped the children cross one of the streets near the school, and though it did get a lot of traffic the vast majority of the drivers were other parents so they were already on the look-out.

I noticed a couple things this time, though. One is a sense of notoriety that comes with giving consistently. People that I haven't met waved at me as they drove by, and I'm pretty sure they weren't mistaking me for someone else (I'm the only parent around there that looks like me, so mistaken identity isn't very likely). It was a subtle kind of acknowledgment that I wasn't expecting.

And at the same time, I noticed that I no longer looked to be thanked for giving. When my shift was over I returned my orange vest, said goodbye to the closest volunteers and went on about my day. In the past I would have checked in with the volunteer coordinator before leaving, which would have guaranteed receiving a hearty thank you. But I didn't actually need it, and didn't even realize the shift in myself until I was halfway back to my car. Nineteen days in the gift is really in the giving, and even as I am subtly thanked by people I don't know it is when I'm comfortable giving and don't require additional thanks.

That old adage comes to mind: when you let something go is when it comes to you.