Service With a Smile...

I often kvell about my Ds, but tonight D1 is at a meeting for something that makes me so proud: she's in the process of joining a community service organization.

She told me she misses a lot about her sorority at UF, and this group consists of local women from 23 up (they're apparently waiving the age limit --D1 turns 23 in 2 months) who meet, socialize, and do projects like feeding the homeless, volunteering a domestic violence shelters, etc...

Now D1 is a full time grad student, works a good portion of the weekend as a hostess at a restaurant, and enjoys an active social life. Still, she hungered for this type of community work. My cup runneth over...

D2 is active in HER sorority at UF, and they also do a good amount of community service. The main thing the Greeks do at UF is Dance MArathon, where the undergrads solicit sponsors, and then stay on their feet for 26 hours. Last year, they raised 3/4 of a million dollars for Shands Children's Hospital!

This year, D2 wants to be an organizer, instead of a dancer...Still, her group will do other activities, too --like working with kids in shelters, and disabled adults...

I tried to teach charity to the Ds, but, truth be told, my way was usually just to write checks. I did help out at school and shul functions, but Wifey truly gets the credit.

When the Ds were little, Wifey organized a group of friends with girls to do talent shows at the JCC, and the Palace, and other nursing homes.

Wifey also took the Ds to volunteer at pet shelters --bathing and grooming dogs to make them more adoptable, and staffing adoption programs at local pet supply houses...

My Ds appreciate how lucky they are. They've never known financial depravation of any type, unless you count the limits we placed on D1's shopping habits...

They could easily focus just on themselves and partying. I know that at their age, law school and friends were more than enough (although, looking back, I was saddled with my widowed mother --though I don't count caring for your own family as charity).

So it's a rainy night in Miami. D1 had class today, and has it tomorrow and Thursday. She could certainly be excused if she just headed home to study, or hang with her boyfriend, but she's instead at the UM Alumni Center, meeting with her new group.

If there's a way to make me prouder than the Ds do when they do this type of thing --I don't know what it is.