Happy Volunteer Week

Today concludes Volunteer Week.  I can't let the week go by without acknowledging my favorite volunteer.  He's the guy on the left and he happens to be the love of my life.  

I can write this now because he is off volunteering for Sport Manitoba.  He will be doing this all morning and all evening.  He happily gives up his Saturday night to volunteer.  On Thursday, he was volunteering with CMHA talking about depression and anxiety to a group of middle school students.  Every time he does this, he tells me how positively it contributes to his mental health.  Every time he does it, he says this is the best one yet.  This was the best one yet, he says, because one of the teachers was inspired by his story and shared with her students her battle with depression and anxiety.  This wouldn't have happened 10 years ago.  There was still too much stigma associated wtih mental illness that a teacher wouldn't have given her students that information.  This is a signal that we have come along way in reducing the stigma.  We have a ways to go but we certainly have made significant progress.  He was also called to the Principal's office because the Principal wanted to meet him and thank him for his volunteer work.  

Most of the volunteer work he does for CMHA occurs during work hours.  He doesn't mind.  He sees so much benefit to this that he flexes his time or uses vacation hours.  He loves to volunteer.  

Like I said, he is the love of my life.  I don't know where I stand, but I know that in his top 5, he has a love for all things sports.  It is a genuine love.  He loves everything about sports and sports trivia.  He notes the many lessons contained in sports.  We also love trivia and he is our sports go-to guy.  His love of sports has been profitable as well.  We were in Vegas once and we walked into a sports bar.  Everyone had the potential to get 10% of their bill if they answered the daily sports question.  It was about US College Football, not his specialty.  He repeated the question and so I thought he didn't know.  Then, he answered.  He did know !!  Not only did he know the answer, he kept giving more and more context for the question that the waitress finally walked away.  We got a flag at our table saying that we were daily trivia winners.  We had an exciting trip with many high-lights, but that was the most exciting moment !!

Anyway, I will probably forget some things but I think his first sports volunteer gig was the Pan Am Games in 1999.  He has volunteered with the soccer community for about 15 years.  He had to cut down a little when I came along to his life.  He was volunteering every weekend so I asked him to cut down to every second weekend.  He won an Award acknowledging his volunteer contributions and that was one of the best evenings of our lives.  I was so proud of him.  He enjoyed volunteered with FIFA for the Women's World Cup.  He has volunteered for our last Grey Cup in Winnipeg.  He will volunteer with anything associated with Sport Manitoba because he loves the people he gets to work with.  He took his volunteering international last year when he volunteered at the World Men's Curling Championship.  The fact that it was in Las Vegas had no influence on his decision to volunteer. 

When he first became an adult, he was a Big Brother and eventually served on that organization's Board of Directors.  He talks to me about his experience with that organization.  There is certainly a lot of time involved and very little recognition but it is it's own reward.  Toastmasters is not known as a volunteer organization but he was a member for 25 years and volunteered his time and talents to anything that he was asked.  

He volunteered for a candidate in the last civic election and plans to be involved in other elections as candidates emerge that he will support.  

Of course, what I am most impressed with is that he volunteered to take me on as a partner.  Frankly, everyday, I think he is getting the short end of the stick.  He does so much for me.  Sure, we have had more than a few rocky patches but the heart wants what the heart wants.  I will love him forever and am so grateful.  Not only did he volunteer to fall in love with me, he volunteered to fall in love with what I brought to the table.  During the last two years of my mother's life, my focus was on her first.  He understood and he didn't mind because he volunteered to love my mom and to do all that he could for her.  I know my mom loved me, but, she also loved him as well.  He volunteered to be a step-father to my adult children.  He embraced his volunteer role as grandpa.  That seems weird to say that.  He didn't volunteer to be a grandpa, he demanded to be a grandpa and I think that is his favorite gig.  Although we are not legally tied to each other, he has made provisions in his will to take care of our children and grandchild.  

So, I love all the big stuff he does, but, I also love the little stuff that he does voluntarily.  He makes my coffee in the morning and he manages my medication.  He voluntarily reads on how to be a better partner and how to make me happy.  He volunteers to give me a hug when I need it and he volunteers to give me a dose of tough love when I need it.  I may not appreciate it at the time, but I am glad he loves me enough to do this.  

I also forgot that he volunteered to be Santa for about 25 years.  Daycares, hospitals, skating events, personal care homes, corporate parties, you name it, he was Santa.  It broke his heart to stop but the suit no longer fit due to him losing too much weight.  

I am sure I am forgetting things.  He does a lot.  He does it because being a volunteer makes him a better person and a better friend, and he has lots of them.  I love you !!!!