By Jim Sher
In the beginning of the school year in 2012, I made a simple phone call to the Waldron Elementary School Principal to offer my volunteer services. My job seemed to be very simple but fun. All I had to do was to open a car door for the students for the Car-Rider Line. Every morning I always look forward to doing about 40 minutes of duty. I open the car door, smile and say good morning to the students and parents. I have learned from Mother Teresa’s quote: “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, and a truly beautiful thing.” I always like to give each student a high-five to cheer them up and then say, “Take care and have a great day.” How simple could that be? Occasionally, I like to pass out treats to students to brighten their day.
Some parents came up to me thank me for what I do. They might add “…thank you so much for guiding the traffic; I couldn’t see the traffic well because the morning sun shines in my eyes” or “I love your sweet smile.” With these touching compliments, It touches me and makes me feel so happy. It is worth my time to stand in the freezing cold morning; it also makes my day to begin my new day.
I also have so much fun during my volunteering at the elementary school. For example: I like to kid the students when I see someone who is wearing nice shoes, “Wow! your shoes are so pretty. Can I borrow them?” The answer was always no with cheerful face. Kids are so innocent. They might not even know I was teasing them. One day I asked this wonderful teacher, “Do you know why I like to wear a hat?” She looked at me with curious face and said, “No.” I told her, “because I am lazy to comb my hair.” Without my guessing, she was laughing.
Life is too short: Whenever I volunteer to do something for others, I can feel the sense of pride in me and it last forever and I am still standing until the day I cannot do it no more for some reason.
