Touch the Life of a Stranger in Need

This is really such a daily part of my life that even though I’m setting it into the accomplished goal side it will always be ongoing. It’s funny…..just when I think I have reached my max and grown weary from reaching out to others and decide I want or need to take a break….an opportunity arises that I just can’t turn my back on….who else will do it if we don’t? We have to reach out….especially if we expect to have somebody reach out to us in our own time of need.

Like I sold my futon to a couple who was expecting twins, and delivered it to them in Torrance for free because it fit in my truck (and she was preggers with twins!). And the microwave I gave to the lady living in an RV. Just little stuff here and there.

Didn’t want to mark this done until I finished the writing project mentioned in this entry, which I meant to finish months ago…but procrastination got the best of me. Speaking of that entry, I wonder what happened to Frannie Girl?

Well I’m going to mark this done, since I finally finished making the cards and mailed them off today…

Today I went and got a Christmas gift for our unit’s Salvation Army Family. I was trying to find sneakers for the mom, but had no luck finding a “wide” size (nope, Foot Locker only carries “normal” sizes). So I ended up getting her a gift box from Crabtree & Evelyn with Comforting Bath products, and some pink (her fave color) plush slippers.

I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to get something “not on the list,” but I hope she will enjoy something nice just for her.

did this today. I was in the Target parking lot and a lady with two kids asked if I could spare her a dollar or two for groceries. She said her husband had been laid off. Humiliatingly, I was out of cash but I went in and got her a gift card so she and her family could get some food and stuff for Thanksgiving.

I also gave her my phone number in case she needed someone to babysit (free) for her, although since she doesn’t know me from adam Eve I don’t expect her to call. She and her kids prayed for me, right there in the parking lot. It was beyond sweet and made me wish I did this stuff more. I felt more guilt-stricken instead of less so. It’s about damn time I started being more appreciative of my situation and helping out others who need an extra hand.

When I got home I called Meals on Wheels to see if they needed volunteers for tomorrow. They didn’t but they are going to call me in a week or so. It’d be nice to be able to do this on a regular basis. Note to self: get really good map!

to have a job that allows me to fulfill this goal on almost a daily basis. A couple that stand out to me from over the past couple weeks:

Helping a somewhat irate woman print out three boarding passes; I stayed polite although I admit to some inner frustration. But she was so thankful at the end. She made a point of finding me to tell me how her friend’s mother was very sick and they needed these passes to go see her before she got any worse.

About a week ago, I helped an ESL woman find books and local organizations to help her learn how to start her own business. She had no idea where to start. I put books in her hand and had her look them over at my desk, as well as reserved some for her and pulled out the Community Information and Referral handbook to get her some contacts. She was surprised and very happy with my assistance and I definitely felt that I’d helped her get her where she needed to be. That was one of those moments where I thought about how much I love my job.

as I was in line to check out at the self-service, there was an older lady in need of help checking out. Standing in front of the computer and looking quite confused while hampered down with tons of vegetables, she looked at me and asked, “How do I weigh the vegetables?”

I patiently explained how the weighing works and how to enter the produce code so the register could weight the item and price it for her. I also had to explain that she had to put her item on the belt to be scanned before she could continue. I also took the time to help her find the product codes and how to look them up using the picture catalogue. Once she got the hang of it, she found it easy and sped through the process.

Luckily, it didn’t take much time so my fresh salmon didn’t get warm and I feel better for having taught someone how to use the checkout!

I joined this team but haven’t written anything about it. I actually do this on a regular basis as part of my job. There’s so much bad stuff out there that police officers do, but it thrills me when I can help someone out who needs it, with something as simple as directions, or a lift to the train station. Sometimes it’s more serious, like the other night when I spent about 30 minutes giving advice to a girl who is in a weird stalker-y situation with the ex-girlfriend of her current boyfriend. It turned out to be going on in Atlanta so it’s not our jurisdiction but I gave her some ideas on things to do to protect herself. I like that aspect of my job a lot.

I will continue with this goal but I kind of feel weird posting about my “good deeds”. I’m a cynical dork at heart, I guess.

hold but not forgotten
i’m in pain and can’t concentrate b/c i can’t get my meds—sorry