Volunteers Needed

Parent Volunteers Needed:
As a Working Mother I tend to dread these notes; Parent Volunteers needed to assemble Easter Egg Baskets, Parents needed for only two hours on Wednesday at 10:00am to read with the kids, Parents needed to teach Vacation Bible School, Parents – Don’t forget your contracted 10 hours of school service are due at the end of the month. Parents, Parents, Parents. Yes, I own my own business and create my own hours. Yes, I have it better than most Working Moms. Yes, I love being a part of my kids daily lives. But NO! I cannot interrupt every single week to be in the classroom. I cannot be all things to all people and have to draw the line from time to time. Do you sense my frustration? Do you ever feel guilty when you just have to say no? or when you say yes too much and never have a moment to lay around the house and just . . . enjoy your family.
As I was sitting in a monthly parent meeting at my kids school last week something dawned on me. I spend somewhere between 5-10 hours a month (don’t judge, I know many of you do triple that) in my kids schools and church. I dedicate myself to these activities because I know they need support, because I am very grateful the role they play in my kids lives and want to support them, and because I feel that if I use a service that I should contribute to it. I don’t do the most or least but I do all that I can within the limits of what works for my family.
But then there was a big question. . .
Sure I know why I am doing this, sitting in a school room on a Tuesday night instead of being at home tucking in my kids, but do my kids? Sure, I know why I stress over selling candles and stuffing Easter Eggs, but do my children?
In fact, my kids know why they have to clean out the dishwasher and pick up their own clothes. They know why they have to pack their own lunches and remember their own book bags (and yes, no matter what is inside the book bag or they are serving for lunch I simply will not go back for it- this is one of those lines that must be drawn). They hear constantly how they have to be responsible for themselves and how they have to help out the family and be a part of running our house.
My question is do they know how to apply this lesson past our driveway? They hear about charity work. They sing songs at the Retirement Home once a year and bring a shoebox full of toys at Christmas. But what about responsibility at school?; at Church? At the park they love or Gymnastics class?
What if instead of PARENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED on every heading, we saw some PARENTS AND KIDS NEEDED: to clean the school yard, cut out crafts for VBS, and to make cookies for the Bake Sale. What if we let some kids sit in on these Parent Volunteer Committees and ask them to make copies for Teachers or even come in to their Siblings classes and read?
Letting the kids volunteer for the very places that serve their needs can really bring home the idea of community service. And, letting the kids serve alongside us make each task so much more fun!
So this Easter my eight year old help me stuff 100 Easter Eggs for church (at first she loved it, then she got bored, then she felt accomplishment at a task completed) and my 6 year is helping me prepare craft bags for VBS. I now look for ways to include my kids in my volunteering and am no longer dreading the next Parent Committee Meeting.
Somehow doing these things with the kids serves my motherly need to multi-task and really makes me feel they are learning a lesson that can take them somewhere in life and that serves my need to be the best parent I can be. So. . . PARENTS AND KIDS NEEDED to run your school, church, and park. They may be short but their hearts are mighty, you may be surprised by what they can do.