Earlier this year, in efforts to help my gloomy teenager find joy in her day, we began spending our Monday evenings at a local cat shelter which houses about 60 cats onsite. We are a part of a team of volunteers who feed, snuggle, clean cages, do dishes- whatever needs getting done. A self proclaimed “dog person”, I wasn’t thrilled at cleaning shitters for 3 hours, but I was desperate to help her find her way. I kept telling her nobody loves middle school, but it wasn’t helping, so we needed to take some action.
Talk about a game changer! Each week we go, she’s become more and more engaged, more animated, more joyful. Recently, one of the vet techs has sought her out to help with administering medication and other medical tasks, and tonight she syringe-fed a sick kitten all on her own. I watched her confidence and self worth literally explode right in front of my eyes.
Who knows what will come of this, I’m not really looking that far ahead to be honest. What I do know, is that she has discovered what it feels like to give of herself to something she’s passionate about, and that is one of the biggest life lessons of all.
And I’m going to nurture the hell out of it, no matter how many shitters I have to clean. Nobody ever said this parenting thing was easy, but it sure is worth it.
Care As Practice
