Do yourself a favor and find a way to volunteer for an organization you like. It’s good for the soul - yours, and theirs. It’s non-fattening, and has no free radicals. Well, some of us from the 60s might be considered freed radicals, and a lot of us volunteer. Spend an hour this week volunteering - read how volunteering changed life for our guest writer, Jennifer A. Lee from Volunteer Gear, Inc..

In my younger days, a creamy, dark, sweet substance found its way into my not so chubby tummy (again, I was younger) when the days were dark. Dipped in peanut butter, the day became even brighter.

As I have aged, my body has changed, my metabolism has slowed and my worries have become more real and chocolate can’t seem to solve all of life’s problems any longer. The most unexpected

Jennifer

replacement for my favorite sweet has emerged - volunteering.

My life over the last several years has been difficult at best. From launching a business to raising three kids to marital struggles, financial problems and ultimately a divorce and a business closing, many days, weeks and even months left me in a state of panic.

I was in the midst of all of my struggles when I volunteered to serve with the Meals on Wheels committee at my church. Meals on Wheels, also known as Golden Diners, is a program run by the Salvation Army. Volunteers deliver hot and cold meals to local area seniors on a daily basis. In my area, local churches sign up for delivery every 4 months. The churches have a coordinator that assigns days of service to the volunteers. Typically two people are assigned a route. In some cases they ride together and in other cases, they split the route.

On my days of service, Cody (my one year old Old English Sheep Dog) and I head to the Senior Center. Occasionally one or more of my three kids partakes in the excursion. The Senior Center packs the food and provides the delivery list. Cody and I map out our route and begin our drive.

Each delivery is a little different. Some folks are bed ridden and a care taker accepts the meals. In other homes, it is a widower welcoming the company you provide for the day. One lady welcomed me into her home so I could chat with her husband sitting in the family room chair. One gentleman needed the company of our visit, but never would accept it. For some folks, the volunteer may be the only person they see all week.

After delivering the route a few times, you become attached to these people, people you spend a very short time of your life with but the care and concern you have for them is real. You worry about them if they are not listed on the route or if they are not home when you stop.

I began this journey of service to do just that, serve others. What I found is that those I was serving were actually serving me. I gained a greater sense of peace with each delivery. My day became brighter. My stress diminished and some of my problems did not seem as important. I look forward to my delivery months.

Volunteering is good for the mind body and soul. Serving others can be accomplished in so many ways from chairing the committee that raises money for a cause to coaching a child’s sports team to volunteering at the local food pantry to buying the food that stocks the shelves at the food pantry. Knowing that you made a difference in someone’s life is the greatest reward. The fact that it took me 42 years and many days at the gym to replace the comfort of chocolate was a lesson well worth learning.

Jennifer is the operations director for Volunteer Gear, Inc. a unique new company that encourages volunteers to share their stories, comment and encourage others to own their cause. Founded on the premise of giving people an outlet for their volunteer spirit, Volunteer Gear launched its website and t-shirt product line promoting volunteerism and encouraging people to support own their cause.

The United States National Women’s Hall of Fame is a delightful place to get virtually lost for an afternoon. I tripped over this site today as I was browsing the Web and I couldn’t tear myself away. You don’t have to leave your comfy chair, or go out in the rain. Just click on the alphabetical links and read about women who have impacted our lives.

• I read about how Lucille Ball was not only a comedian, but a true entrepreneur and the first woman head of a major studio.
• I learned that Mary McLeod Bethune was an African-American teacher who, with only $1.50, began a school to help educate other young African-American women. Maybe she wasn’t as flamboyant as Oprah, but she did her part.
• Leontine Kelly was the first female Methodist bishop. Awesome power for us.
• Ida Tarbell’s expose of the Standard Oil Trust in the 1904 publication, The History of the Standard Oil Company prompted the federal government to prosecute and break up Standard Oil for anti-trust violations. She became an icon of journalism.

The articles are very short - teasers, really, with nuggets of susinct information in them. They are often linked to larger pieces, and can inspire you to browse. Learn about women. Read a few of these to the children you care about, girls or boys.

You might become inspired to write a brief or two in your social media spaces about the women who have inspured your life.

This morning, VibrantNation.com posted a bit about someone’s “inner old lady” and the phrase resonated gleefully inside me. It’s a fascinating concept bouncing across women-centric sites this year and I love it. Nurturing our inner old lady seems much easier than worrying about inner child.

Here’s the deal. I’m not old, though my daughter, in particular, can’t stop making little observations about my age, the year I was born, and the two gray hairs I have. But there is a little old lady living inside me who will ultimately make an appearance. I want to spend some time nurturing her now so that when she comes out to stay, in maybe 40 years, I’ll be ready and she will be socialized.

For example. I will enjoy seeing her wear purple - possibly with orange mixed in or next to the purple. The brighter the better. Perhaps trousers with splashy flowers. I will love her gray hair.

She can speak her mind and say what she wants, but she can’t be mean and curmongeonly. I want the lines aorund her mouth to be laugh lines like my grandma’s were - not frown lines. No drool will be tolerated.

Inner old lady will not be allowed to wear chemically formulated perfumes. There is nothing less appealing than the trend of mature women dowsing themselves with designer label perfumes over dime store hairspray. It stinks and my inner old lady will not be so crass. Essential oils (NOT patchouli) are encouraged. Maybe a nice sage flower essence.

My inner old lady will be welcome to play - by herself, with my grandkids, or with anyone who is so inclined. She can laugh aloud. I’d love to see her slap her knees and get totally giddy over kites and kids on swings (ok, I admit it, I do that now).

I’ll cherish my inner old lady - in or out - but will require that she and I continue to remember what it is like to by young or inexperienced. We will never lord it over young people or require anyone to make way for us simply because we’re aging. Should anyone care to open a door for us, we’ll thank them and be grateful. We’ll offer help and wisdom where we can, but no one is obliged to take either.

She will be encouraged to oogle fine looking men, or women, perhaps pinch a butt here or there. She can feel and think like a sexy human. Wrinkles notwithstanding.

I’ll love the inner old lady-crone because she is simply another iteration of myself and I am pretty fond of me. I’ll soothe her wrinkled brow, bring her a heating pad for arthritic joints, and excuse her lapses of social graces. She has paid some dues.

I love the idea of nurturing my inner old lady. Giving her permission to age gracefully, without plastic surgery or chemical injections feels just right for me. I remember how graceful, kind, and warm my grandmother was. She looked like a grandma and felt like one. I could do worse than to end up like her.

Take a moment to check out my guest post at HealMyPTSD.com for PTSD and Invisible Illness Awareness Week. I was invited to do a guest column because two of my family members are dealing with PTSD. It’s really tough to cope with an illness or condition that is invisible. There are physical symptoms, but often, people chalk those up to some other cause. HealMyPTSD is a valuable website by people who have knowledge and great concern.

While we’re at it, let’s visit some of my favorite posts over the years of compiling WomenDayByDay and Ontext:

A guest post from Thistle Farm, where women work to fix the hugely challenging problems in their lives. This one is terrific.

Women who read us honor their military loved ones for Memorial Day.

Proof that Jesus was a woman, and other funny stuff.

The courts are failing to help battered women.

22 ways to earn aliving at home - work at home

Basing marriage on positive thinking

Dr. Phil and the drunken teenage girls

Half dozen good ways for women to enter the blogsphere

Light therapy for pregnant women

There. That’s a little journey through the last few years of Women Day By Day. It’s rewarding to spend time digging up great information for my readers and empowering women to manage some of the things we face everyday. I’ve really loved finding guest writers to do a post here and there this year. Let me know if you know someone with something important, funny, or entertaining to tell us. Write me — maryan at ontext.com