Pay It Forward

A while back I wrote a post about my goals for 2009.  I refuse to call them resolutions because I have never known anyone to keep a New Years Resolution past January 15 and I didn’t want to jinx myself.  But those are some ongoing goals in my life that I am making a renewed effort to implement with the fresh start of a new year.

There is something about writing down your goals, especially on the World Wide Web, that helps keep them in the forefront of your mind.  I have had moments over the past few weeks when I have recalled that list and said “yes” to my kids when I wanted to say “no,”  times when I looked up from my work and smiled and took the time to really listen instead of shooing them away, times that I’ve wanted to say “Just a minute!” but instead hopped up and did what was being requested of me, putting their agenda ahead of my own.  I KNOW.  What a concept.

Of course there have been plenty of times when I’ve said no, frowned, yelled, ignored, shooed away, and procrastinated — more than I’d like to admit.  And the manage time more responsibly part, well, um…

But that list has definitely served as a helpful reminder.  This blog is sort of like my cyber-conscience.

There is one area of my life, however, that I’ve been sorely neglecting and was definitely not present in my list of goals.  This week PBN asks us to share how you and your family help others, or how you plan to add that to your list for 2009.

I have to admit, helping others has not been at the top of my list of priorities.  I feel like I’m barely staying afloat trying to keep up with everything I have going on under my own roof.  And while that should be my first priority, I KNOW that it is not enough.  In fact, several times I’ve had great intentions to do make a meal for a family at church or send a care package to a neighbor who is serving in the armed forces overseas (and who is probably reading my blog right now!) but I just haven’t stepped outside of my own little self-absorbed world long enough to do it.  There are church outreach opportunities that I have squandered because “I’m just too busy right now.”

So I’m taking advantage of the PBN Blog Blast and my cyber-conscience, and I’m going to start brainstorming ideas for our family to help others.  First I’m going to refer to that list of goodies Kim sent me weeks ago and get a box in the mail to Iraq.  See, now I said it here so I HAVE to follow through.  No more procrastinating.  My son even wrote a note to include, but it’s probably long gone now.  That’s just how lame I am.

Something we DO as a family is support a child through Compassion.  This is an AWESOME opportunity to pay it forward or give back or whatever the latest catch phrase is.  We exchange letters with our Compassion child on a regular basis, and my son corresponds with him, so that is a neat way for him to get a glimpse of a world other than his own.  And for just $32 a month, we are making a difference in one life.  I really would like to add another Compassion child to our family; that’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while.  Perhaps now is the time to do it.

So how about you?  What do you and your family do to help others and give a little bit back?  I’d love some fresh ideas, especially for getting our kids involved.