You Can't Beat that Feeling

I've been on my feet for 2 1/2 hours.
I've been serving people water, sweet tea, and unsweet tea.
I've been hurrying about clearing dirty dishes and soiled, damp cloth napkins.
But still there's a smile on my face!

Tonight after two classes in McKee, I headed to the Balsalm Mountain Inn to serve dinner. Catman, the owner of the local no-kill cat shelter, was trying to raise money for his 70+ cats in a wonderful dinner provided by the BMI staff. I was drink girl, filling and refilling, and I had a blast! I met a group of students, and we had the best time joking around and assisting each other as we went through the routine twice in one night. Eventually, I had to pack it up because of my 8 am knockout of a class tomorrow morning.

 This all started from my dedication to the Jackson County Animal Shelter (where unfortunately they do have to kill the animals eventually). One of the employees I've gotten to know well asked me if I would help out since they'd most likely be short-staffed. I jumped at the chance! More matter how many times I see The Viking around campus or if I'm not doing well in a class, I will still be smiling after a day of volunteering with those amazing animals up at the shelter. Why not expand my volunteering to serving dinner for people who love them just as much as I do?

Throughout my whiny high school years, I escaped the long hours after school taking orders at McDonald's or cleaning tables at Logan's Roadhouse thanks to the unwavering financial assistance of my parents. I wasn't even really backed into a corner to get a job, was hardly ever pressured to get one. I just sat in front of my computer through the afternoon working on my latest book gathering cobwebs in my nonexistent bank account. When I hit college, I still didn't have a paying job until last semester, and I probably make less than minimum wage with my little university-salary, cranking out a couple of articles bi-weekly. But, I digress! The point is I've never had to serve food! I've never been in the restaurant business. And, you know what? It wasn't so bad! I bet if I did it every night, I'd have a different opinion, but for the night I had a grand time. And when a lady asked me, "Where do you volunteers come from? Are you in a fraternity or sorority?"
"No," I answered with a smile. "I volunteer at the Jackson County Animal Shelter, and they asked if I could help out tonight."
With so much sincerity, the women replied, "Thank you, thank you so much, thank you!"
Your video games, your computer monitor, your television screen will never tell you that! And even if that woman hadn't said what she said, it still would have been the best night here so far because I was involved in something bigger than myself.

***If you think you have room in your life for a new pet, I'd highly suggest typing "Jackson County Animal Shelter, Cullowhee, NC" in your Google/Yahoo/Bing search bar and taking a look at some of the great animals there. Or type in "Catman2" for some amazing cats. Personally, if you're looking for a dog, I'd take Patch from the animal shelter. He's a Dalmatian/border collie mix with an amazing personality and extremely obedient. That dog stopped on a dime! But all of their animals are incredible. I should know; I see them about four times a week! And, if you live in the greater Charlotte area or anywhere between there and Cullowhee, I will most definitely provide free transportation to give one of those furry faces a home!