The United Way Day of Caring

Some people are really handy to have around the house and some people are really not. I fall in to that later category.

This point was reinforced recently when I volunteered half a day to The United Way Day of Caring. The office I work for is a strong supporter of this organization, so they encouraged us all to help out.

We were sent to the Program for Infants and Children, in two shifts of 5 people = 8 to noon, then noon to 4. I was on the afternoon shift so was able to head over there after my lunch hour, and then – thank goodness – go right home afterwards.

What they had us doing was just some all-around general things you might find on anybody’s Honey-Do list: put up shelving, install curtain rods, put particle board on the wall for hanging hooks onto, sew some banners, and install a film on the exterior windows to provide privacy.

I learned, once again, that I simply cannot do things. I can help other people do things – but I just can’t do them myself.

The first part of the shift went really well. I worked with Brian and Ryan on installing the shelving and curtain rods. Then Ryan and I moved on to the window film, while Brian and Deanna tackled the particle boards in the toy room.

Ryan, thankfully, is one of those “handy to have around” type people. She and I worked quite well as a team, and were able to cover three of the four windows. But then she had to leave. That left me and one of the employees of the place to complete the task. Maggie, the girl trying to help me finish, was really nice – but she had never done that sort of thing before, so I felt like I had to be the one to step up.

It was a nightmare! Within half an hour, I was so frustrated I really had to watch my mouth. I’m not one to swear or curse, but those four-letter words were sitting right on the tip of my tongue.

So, of course, I ruined our first attempt. We tore it down, threw it away, and then went to cut another piece off only to find that we’d pretty much run out. We ended up piecing together several smaller pieces to cover the window – which is certainly doable, just with seams down the middle.

And, yes – I ruined that one, too. Poor Maggie… she tried to salvage it, but by that time it was 5:30 and we both had to leave.

Sigh…

Overall, she did say she was very pleased with all the work we did for them. I just hope she really meant it, and wasn’t just being nice because she could see that I was really upset at myself.