I Used to Care Less

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad,
and made someone feel glad?
If not I have failed indeed.

Has anyone’s burden been lighter today because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary
been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

Then wake up
and do something more
than dream of your mansion above . . .

I was whistling this tune as I showered for the second time on Wednesday. I tried singing it but I kept being reminded of my dad’s baritone voice booming out whenever this hymn was on the program at church. And when that happens, there’s no more singing for me. My dad was a hard worker, always willing to lend a hand. I aspire to be like that. Anyway . . .

Once a year the university allots half a day for any willing employees to volunteer with the United Way. It’s called The Day of Caring. I used to ignore it and call it The Day of Caring Less. But a decade ago I dragged myself over to the stadium and now I wouldn’t miss it. A pancake breakfast, a free t-shirt, and a chance to do something for someone else.

In 2007 I was putting siding on a house for Habitat for Humanity and got my picture in the local paper. What a poser! (Photo by ASHLEY FRANSCELL/Daily Herald)

This year I was assigned to the House of Hope, a refuge and rehabilitation center for women with children and a drug dependence. We cleared dry weeds and debris from a fence line, then cleaned screens and windows. (Upper left, you can see the university spokesperson cleaning some glass and the university photographer snapping her photo.) Looking through the shiny glass of one of the buildings, I could see a cute mom playing with some little girls at a table. She looked up at me and smiled. The work was suddenly totally worth it.

It felt great to do something for someone else, and it was a plus that it was outdoor, manly work and that I got to pitch in with a batch of colleagues past and present that I truly love to work with.

Last year we spent the morning cutting things out of paper for an elementary school. Working in the sun and getting dirty was much more satisfying.

If you get a chance to do some real work for someone else, jump at the chance. It might make you sing or at least whistle.

. . . Doing good is a pleasure,
a joy beyond measure,
a blessing of duty and love.