By accident: I went to this boat house a few times just to rent a kayak, and when I was chatting with the person who runs it she asked if I'd want to come volunteer on a weekend — and I did.
People there are the most eclectic mix of backgrounds: the owner is a retired coastal guard, she was in Olympic games in her 20s as a windsurfer. Her partner is a retired engineer, who is helping fixing boats when something breaks. Some local kids and teenagers would come volunteer. Our customers are local families and tourists, enjoying their weekend in the park on the lake. And of course a micro-community of retirees chatting with the boat house owner, sharing gossip and their life stories, bringing ice cream for kids and getting their afternoon sun.
It's been more than a year since I started volunteering there, and it transformed my experience beyond any expectations, filling my days with sun, people, stories, little adventures and camaraderie.
Volunteering. And before you brush it out skeptically, like "oh yeah right, those people", it really doesn't have to be anything you don't care about.
I volunteer at a boat house on the city lake nearby, just putting kids on pedal boats and kayaks. I don't even call it volunteering, I just love kayaks and water.
It's amazing how your perspective of time and people and service shifts, when you spend some time being "in service" to other people, instead of anxiously counting hours that you're being paid for — or could've been paid for — and maximizing "receiving".
I've confirmed for myself time and time again the advice I've read: if you have a busy life and want to increase a feeling that you have more time? — try spending your time for free, for example, volunteering.
People there are the most eclectic mix of backgrounds: the owner is a retired coastal guard, she was in Olympic games in her 20s as a windsurfer. Her partner is a retired engineer, who is helping fixing boats when something breaks. Some local kids and teenagers would come volunteer. Our customers are local families and tourists, enjoying their weekend in the park on the lake. And of course a micro-community of retirees chatting with the boat house owner, sharing gossip and their life stories, bringing ice cream for kids and getting their afternoon sun.
It's been more than a year since I started volunteering there, and it transformed my experience beyond any expectations, filling my days with sun, people, stories, little adventures and camaraderie.