Over the past month I have been in and out of the mall about half a dozen times, doing some Christmas shopping. I always go in and out the same door so I can remember where I parked my car. As I walked by, I noticed a small group of marines standing by the entrance, wearing their camouflage uniforms. I was a little curious about what they were doing there... were they waiting for a ride? Just sitting and chatting? I saw them there several times, but never looked closely. Yesterday, I saw there was one lone marine sitting there. Then I noticed a small pile of toys next to him. Then I saw the sign lying on the ground... Toys for Tots. Why hadn't they made the sign more visible? I hadn't noticed it before. Then I felt really bad, thinking of all the times I had passed them, not knowing they were there to collect toys.
I had some packages in my car, and among them was a toy I was planning to return to the store. It was for one of my nieces, who had been requesting this toy for a while. The day before, I had shown it to my sister and she told me "oh, she already got that toy, for her birthday". So, I was planning to take it back. However, when I saw the tiny pile of toys the marine had collected, I decided to go back to my car and get the package. Instead of returning it to the store, I gave it to him for Toys for Tots. He said it was the last day of the toy drive, and he was only going to be there for another half hour or so. It turns out I got this toy turned in at the very last minute.
I would have been glad to drop off more toys earlier if I had paid attention to what they were doing. My nieces have more toys than they know what to do with, and I was reminded that some kids have none. What was I thinking? I felt guilty for ignoring them all the times before, but I was happy that I at least got one toy in at the last minute.
5 comments:
not your fault - they need a more prominent sign!
You've done good.
You don't need to feel guilty Judy just happy that you managed to make a donation even at the last moment. It's so true that so many families have so little and we have so much. I think that you were reminded of this is the most important result of the entire marine mall incident.
Much love form the gang in Nova Scotia. We're preparing for a big winter storm happening this evening. Hatches are battened ;-)
I wish there were more of them out there ... I've been trying to find places here to give toys, and they are hard to find.
Thanks to those sweet marines. I am like you and would feel bad if I didn't give to every bell ringing Salvation Army volunteer at every store door. Gosh, if you give those guys a $5 bill they act like you gave them $100! They are so appreciative.
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