what are you waiting for?

Monday was the best day I've had in a long time.

I started my new Meals on Wheels route, and got to the pick up point early. I figured I'd need to give myself some extra time, and boy am I glad I did.

I had 24 people on my route, and instead of it being in the White Rock Lake area, it was in Garland. Fine, I thought, I'll knock this out in an hour.

It didn't take me long to get frustrated. I hate to get lost, and it really didn't help that the directions to the first stop had a slight hitch. One of the major streets had been mislabeled. I pulled over and took out my Mapsco, and after several hair-pulling minutes of saying "wtf" to myself over-and-over, I figured out the mistake and felt brilliant.

I love this job. I can not begin to tell you how good it makes a person feel. I had the back of my Jeep filled with one cooler of bags containing milk, applesauce, hot dog buns and tiny packets of mustard, and another two coolers filled with trays of hot chili, wienies, and beans. The first stop was quick. Not a talker. The next stop was a gentleman that used a cane, and was vision and hearing impaired. I could hear his television on in the background, so I rang the bell a few times, and knocked fairly loudly. He came to the door, and wanted to talk. He was flirtatious.

I made my way to several more stops, and met a nice woman in a wheelchair. She came to the door with her little dog Taffy in her lap, so I came in and put her lunch on a table. Her house was very cluttered. There wasn't a spare place in the living area to sit - every inch was covered in junk. There were bags of trash lined up along the walls, there were dishes, glasses, plates, etc. stacked on the kitchen counter and filling the sinks. She was pleasant and chatty, and showed me the birthday cake she was working on for her Mother. She was going to have a 90th surprise birthday party. Her other daughter was flying in from North Carolina.

The directions were still pretty good, and I made it to a home that a couple lived in. They had a wooden sign with two carved crows sitting on top of it. The sign said "Two old crows live here". I walked in and the gentleman was sitting in his recliner, and his wife was sitting on the couch. They were both on oxygen, and had a nurse caring for them. The woman was talkative, and told me she had a hard time sleeping the night before. I put their lunch on their kitchen table. The table was set with cloth napkins, plates, silverware, and glasses. I told the lady I was sorry she had a hard night, and hoped she had a better one that night. I turned to look at her husband. He was as frail as she was, but he smiled at me and waved. He looked just like a little boy waving, and I told him to have a nice lunch, and a good day.

As I was leaving the lady said, "Thank you, and God Bless You."

I got tears in my eyes when I got in the car, and found my next three stops in a run-down apartment complex around the corner.

It would be easy to get depressed at some of the things you see. I try to be as cheerful and helpful as I can. I admire their trinkets, their little dogs, and their tidy yards or homes.

I became frustrated again when the directions stopped. I still had seven more stops, and my Mapsco, so I did my best. I still got lost, and started to get mad at myself for getting stressed out. Here I am, cursing, flipping pages, making u-turn after u-turn, looking at the time, cursing, etc. I made all my stops, returned my coolers (I was the last one done), and finished up with the rest of my day.

Last night I was lying in bed, and started to think about the couple with the old crows sign. I imagined them 60 years ago. I pictured her in a simple dress, and I saw them holding hands. I thought of all the years they had together, and the things they could have possibly been through. Children. Grandchildren. Laughter. Tragedy. Holidays. Meals. Their health was failing, but they still had each other. I thought about how powerfully amazing love is, and I fell asleep.

I can't wait to do it again. I don't know why it took me so long to volunteer, but shortly before Christmas I started questioning my existence. (I know, that sounds so dramatic, but it really isn't.) I've got a full life, and I am happy, but I felt like there's something missing. There's more I needed to do. I said, "What are you waiting for?"

I would highly recommend volunteering for something to all of my friends. Trust me, you always get 100% more out of it than whatever it is you are doing.