When I was about 9- so this was in 1973, I belonged to this Girl Scout ( don’t laugh or I’ll smack you with my badgeless sash ) type group called ” The Bluebirds “

Along with the other projects I didn’t do for Bluebirds because I was a latch key kid and my Mom would have killed me if I’d messed around with the stove when she wasn’t at home ( they focused on you earning your badges through lots and lots of homemaking skills back then)  I also missed out on those sewing and outdoor projects because my Mom was scared of what was happening to her feet and to a lesser degree her hands.

My Mom worked in this apple processing plant where she found out- a little to late-that she was allergic to apples and the skin on her hands and feet were peeling off and blistering and leaving her looking like something from a Sci-Fi Movie.

Why didn’t my Dad help me?

Because he wasn’t Mike Brady – you know the dad from the Brady Bunch- my Dad was a Cook back then with long weird work hours and you bet your backside I wasn’t going to bother him when he would crawl through the door at night either.

So I was totally badgeless and sometimes I forgot to bring treats and it was a good thing I could box because if you think you can just talk your way out of corner you’ve been backed into by a bunch of angry 9 year olds who are expecting donuts or something for ” Treat Time ” you are seriously mistaken.

So as a Bluebird I sucked.

And then redemption came.

 One day, we had to come up with an idea for ” Volunteer Day “.

We had to sit around in a circle and come up with something we could do to help people in our neighborhood or schools.

I had a brilliant idea.

Day after day in School I had to sit there and listen to some of my friends struggle through ‘reading time’. And in some cases not just struggle- they either cried or refused to read at all.

I, on the other hand had managed to find something I could do well because Badgeless Me was reading two years up from my grade.

 So there was something I could do to help.

I said, ” We could help kids practice reading “.

My Leader looked at me like I had just suggest we make Doggie Doo-Doo sandwiches and hand them out to starving people. ” Anita, that is not a  good idea. No one is going to want to sit around and listen to kids read.”

So what did my little Troop do?

We decided to lip sync that song ” Snoopy Vs The Red Baron“  for old people at Nursing Homes who “didn’t have anybody.”

That was how we ‘helped’ our community.

Once.

They did it once.

I walked my Sister to and from her ballet class that day and a lot of other classes after that day even though I had a lot of other fun things I could have been doing instead.

I offered to do it.

Volunteered you may say.

So on Monday, when we are asked to participate in a National Day of Service I am going to go through my books, chose ones that really meant something to me and I am going to donate them to a shop by my bus stop where the money goes to help the homeless.

So why do that?

Because it’s a sacrifice, because books still matter to me, because reading matters to me

because a long time ago

A Little Bluebird told me too.

links to participate in National Day of Service below

2009 King Day of Service Will Be Largest Ever –
11,400 Projects and Counting!

*

America Serves at Change.Gov