A thought about community and volunteering and stuff

I was so delighted to come across this scene on my way back from Penola last week.

The community spirit around these parts makes me so proud, it's a warm and fuzzy feeling, a sense of belonging to something bigger.

Yesterday I attended a BBQ with clients and staff of the organisation I volunteer with. It was a great feeling turning up for some salad and snags and being welcomed and recognised. It's wonderful to be involved and included in celebrations at this time of year, in my local community.

I enjoy my volunteering role and benefit from the weekly interaction in a social sense, just as much as the exercise session ladies do. One of the old dears asked me yesterday what exactly it is that I DO as a volunteer. I was a bit lost for words. I am just a volunteer.

I guess that I am there to support the paid carers and the work of the organisation basically. 

I do enjoy the exercise sessions, and the chats over morning tea after. I think this social aspect is the most important thing for older people. Getting out of the house and in the community. The feeling that they are part of society still, part of something bigger.

They have great stories to tell and I feel privileged to be able to listen to them. So to add to my volunteering role, I am not only a support, but a listener. A willing ear.

In other news, with all the end of year concerts out the way, I am overjoyed that it is the last dayof school for the girls for 2019. I am ready for sleep ins and lazy days.

There is no rest for the wicked though, with our holiday shack fully booked until the middle of January at the moment. I will be wearing a track, with cleaning duties. 

I am also becoming reflective on the past year, what I have achieved and realising how I want to move into the next year. This one has been a doozy, not unlike a roller coaster, with so many knocks and scrapes. I am hopeful.

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