Before I write any further, I want to make VERY clear that this is not intended as a judgmental essay! As the mom of two children under 3, with a third on the way this Spring, I am right smack in the middle of the chaos that ensues when children enter our lives. Suddenly, our schedules are not our own -- days are driven by naptimes and regular feedings, and when we do have an unscheduled moment, we're completely exhausted or maybe would just like to spend some time with that spouse of ours (remember them?).
So why this reflection? Well, this morning my husband and I took our two daughters (and the kid in utero) to the Project Peace Day of Peace at Claremont Middle School. There was a nice turnout and a lot of kids there -- all of which is great! But one of our dedicated volunteers noted that a lot of our former regular volunteers from the surrounding neighborhood have stopped coming to these quarterly service days, and the common denominator seems to be the birth of children over the past few years.
Which got me thinking about how we choose our family activities. Now, don't get me wrong; if I weren't the Executive Director of Project Peace, volunteer service on a Saturday morning might not be the first activity I'd choose, either! But upon reflection, I think it's one of the most important things we've done together as a family. It's gotten us connected to a local, underserved school that we'd otherwise just walk right past. It's a pretty low commitment: 3 hours, 4 times a year (and often families will come late or leave early, which is totally fine!). And the girls love it! The Days of Peace are designed to be kid-friendly, and at Claremont they always have lots of work for us to do in the garden. Our girls, who lack a yard at home, love digging around in the dirt (whether or not that's actually helpful).
But the most important thing about a Day of Peace isn't that it's easy to take your kids to; the most important thing is the message that we're conveying to our kids when we make activities like this a priority. Sure, right now my girls are most excited about the Great Harvest muffins they get at these events. And sure, I tend to spend about half the time at the Days of Peace kid-wrangling, so I'm not at my most productive and helpful. (And honestly, by the time we get home, everyone is exhausted and grumpy and filthy!) But I'm hopeful that one day our kids will remember, "You know, even when we were little, our family made a point of going out regularly to volunteer in the community." And I'm hopeful that this might encourage them to grow into the kind of adults who are active in their own communities.
So the next time you have a free Saturday morning (February 26, 2011?), consider coming out to a Day of Peace, even for a short time. Bring your kids. After all, it's pretty hard to tell our kids to love their neighbors if we're not giving them real chances to do just that.
