Saturday, March 21, 2009

Sharing is Caring. Giving is Living.

Ryan and I worked on our duplex most of the day today. Since we have both sides, there's quite a bit to do. We're completely remodeling one of the sides, so there will be some demolishing in the future, but for now, I'm the Donation Box Maker and Ryan is the Handy Man.

My favorite part of the day, surprisingly, was giving away my shoe collection. We live in a humble neighborhood where you remodel your own house (you don't hire contractors), you mow your own lawn (you don't hire lawn maintenance people), and you put your donation boxes where your front lawn meets the street (you don't take them to a donation box). Today when I placed boxes of my seemingly endless shoe collection at the curb, my neighbor down the street found her way over and her face lit up. She talked to me about how her neighbor to the left has trouble getting around and needs shoes to wear to church, and how the ladies across the street need shoes and clothing to take to their families in Mexico. I quickly decided that there were more things I could do without and took them over to her house.

On top of the people that have already been hurting, other people are losing their jobs left and right and if you still have yours, you're already doing better than most of the people around you, whether you realize it or not. I think it's a good time as any to help out when you can. Gestures that may seem small to you, might seem huge to whomever you're helping.

In a time when TMZ gets more viewers than NPR gets listeners, I feel honored if you've read this, wherever you are. And if you got bored and headed to PerezHilton.com, I won't hold it against you. :)

4 comments:

You can call me Tawny.... said...

this is soooo inspiring to me!!! & it makes me so proud & honoured to call you my friend!

Anji Gallanos said...

Not headed to Perez Hilton..I love our local freecycle too...it's such a great community experience to share around. Esp considering this is a time so many people need it.

The Decemberist said...

You have a good heart, Kelli! The world could use more people like you. Keep it up! Let's all keep the good vibes coming. :)

Adaiha said...

One of the things I do love about living in OKC is that neighbors are usually pretty friendly folks. Awesome that you found new homes for your unwanted stuff!