On my list of lists I wrote “Volunteer Outdoors”.

I’m not sure what this one was about, other than to make sure I stayed accountable to community – something I think we all should be doing.  Volunteering, of course, shakes the ego off and reminds you of the greater good.  Volunteering feels good! Volunteering requires time, and so a lot of us let it slip to the side. Still others, and I sometimes fall in this bracket, let too many volunteer opportunities consume the day.  I have what’s called “Helium-hand”, and it causes me to take pity on non-profits at an alarming rate. I am that mom, the one who gets sucked into every fundraiser, and school clean up and, well… you get the point.  Though I value my time helping my children’s school and activities, I wanted to make sure that this year I volunteered for me.  What an odd concept when you really think about it.

Anyhow, I think (but I can’t be sure) that my plan was to volunteer “outside” to kind of mix things up.  This could be more complicated than simply stuffing envelopes or teaching 2nd graders to paint, theoretically.  This was about getting me out to the “we” of our new community and in turn allowing me to see a little more of where we now call home.  At Energize.com ( https://www.energizeinc.com/art/why-volunteer) they speak about the reasons people volunteer. According to this website, it’s not always best to view volunteering from an altruistic viewpoint. No, indeed, volunteering really does go both ways in the best scenarios, and both the volunteer and the recipient can gain from the experience – instead of exhausting one or the other.  I think looking at volunteering as purely selfless is what limits how and why people do it in the end, they feel if they give themselves completely, then they are done (until next years quota).  Truly, when I volunteer for a good cause, the kind of cause that sits warm in my bones, I get way more than I’ve ever given and I leave feeling full – not drained.

Last week I helium-handed a local parks and recreation official who needed volunteers for their annual Ski & Snowboard swap, which raises money for the local ski-bus for kids. Though I wasn’t outdoors (hello, it’s 32 degrees while I type this), I was at the business of hustling used outdoor equipment for a solid 8 hours, and it actually felt good to get out in the community, despite my lack of ski boot sizing knowledge.  Outdoor volunteer badge checked off? Nah, I can’t even. However, if we get to next July and I’m desperate, then I’ll swing back to this.  Instead, I am now looking forward to what adventure awaits me.  If my week only allows so many given away hours, how will I spend them outside? What volunteer opportunities will open to me, and what doors will they open for the future?