Care Packages

I’ve reached a point where I have no easy answer when my family asks what I want for my birthday. This year, I requested some time from my kids. So, this past weekend, we all got together with some supplies that Tara and I have been saving, and put together care packages.

We included some basic toiletries, such as bar soap, toothpaste, and toothbrush, some single-serve packaged food items, and hats and gloves. We put everything together and then made a trip downtown to a park that the city allows homeless people to set up tents to sleep in at night. As part of the agreement, the tents have to be taken down during the day, but some folks still hang out.

My favorite thing about doing stuff like this, is watching my kids realize that they can do something small that makes a difference for others. When Michelle, our oldest, was little, she would gather donations from our neighbors for the domestic violence shelter in town. Her kindness and generosity has always been something I admire a lot. Now, her little sister, Lily, is nine, and I get to watch her doing some of the same things.

Here’s a complete list of everything we included, just in case you’re interested in putting together some care packages of your own.

• bottle of water
• roll of toilet paper
• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• bar soap
• gloves
• hat
• fruit snacks
• fruit strips
• Keebler cookies
• nuts
• plastic trash bag
• Nutrigrain bars
• granola bars

Next time, I think we’ll do things a little differently, include different items. Here are a couple of other samples I found online. The takeaway lesson for me is that it’s more important to do something, even if all the little pieces aren’t exactly right, than it is to do nothing because you don’t know how to do it “right.”

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