Volunteer Service
My Road Goes Ever On
Volunteer Service in My Road Goes Ever On has taught me fundamental life lessons. There is a reason why the words “community” and “service” go so well together. Communities don’t work too well without cheerful service. The amazing part?
To give is to gain.
Glendale Cemetery has been quiet of late, and I like it that way. The year started in a rush with more burials than usual, but by the time our Memorial Weekend Fundraiser rolled around, things had calmed down. Luckily, we found a good mowing company to help make the place look neat and trimmed, while volunteers planted a new tree, replacing a dead one, and picked up the branches from spring storms.
The odd thing about my work as the secretary/treasurer of the cemetery is that I never know what will happen next. One day I might be searching the records for the proper site to bury a body, the next, I might be at the bank depositing a generous donation, while the next, I find myself paying bills, and then, suddenly, I’m asked to figure out where a long-lost relative was laid to rest thirty years ago. This year, we opened up a couple of new locations at the cemetery, so sales have been a part of my job description. Never expected that.
I only get stressed when there is a lot to do at once and not much time to get it all done, or when a hurting family is trying to make difficult decisions. It’s hard to see people suffering through loss, but I am so grateful for the many people who assist grieving families with quiet care. My respect for funeral directors, gravediggers, cemetery mowers, community volunteers, and the generous support of donors has renewed my faith in humankind. Despite tragic loss and death, the human spirit shines bright.
For the last couple of years, I have tutored GED students. One had cerebral palsy and overcame huge hurdles to pass three of the four tests to earn his GED. He is forging ahead with the math skills needed to conquer the final test and get the recognition he so richly deserves. Another student was in the practice test stage and working up the courage to take the final exams when health problems laid him low. I’m not worried. He’ll get there. He came to me insisting that he could not write and wasn’t fond of reading. After I assigned a chapter story each week, he met the challenge. He became a dedicated writer who brought a new thrilling episode each session. Watching his spirit grow through a new appreciation of the written word was a reward worth more than words can say. My third student came to me through the ESL program but was also working on her GED. Her spoken English is excellent, but her reading skills needed help. Along with the usual GED texts, I was able to steer her toward a few classic children’s books that she and her young daughter could read together. I’m hoping that beautiful literature will work the wonders in her life that it has in mine.
Acting as an Election Judge is always a bit of an adventure. With the way things have been going this year, I suspect that will be true on a whole new level. I don’t know what will happen with the candidates, but I know that the volunteers at the Fillmore Town Hall will be there, ready to assist, to make this election as positive an experience as humanly possible.
Getting older has meant growth and change. For one, I have a little more “free” time as my grown children head out into the big world. I still make family meals, clean whatever gets dirty, keep the house from falling to pieces, and attempt to keep our critters out of trouble, but the hands-on projects are less intense. Well, except for that brush-cutting fiasco this spring and painting the porches a lovely blue-gray this summer. Free time doesn’t mean “just me” time. Along the road of writing and home management, I have found happy satisfaction in volunteer service. It is not a virtue; it’s a gift.
To give is to gain.
A. K. Frailey is the author of 20 books, a teacher for 35 years, and a homeschooling mother of 8.
Make the most of life’s journey.
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