Pahrump Mother’s Corner’s 4th Annual Baby Shower is coming up, and giving back to the community is on my mind. As I’ve gone through the beginning stages of parenthood, giving has looked very different as the kids’ needs change. In the season of newborns, I was barely keeping my head above water to give – I was able to participate in meal trains and organize occasional get togethers, but that was my limit. With young toddlers I found more free-time, albeit with said toddlers underfoot, and was able to focus on building a large community to support moms where the kids were welcome too. Now I’m entering the little kid stage, and my free time for giving has dropped once again as my family enters the world of adventures and homeschool lessons. I’m sure our lives will only get more busy as new activities and interests are added in.
I often find myself frustrated at being unable to give as I used to. I try to remind myself that as the parenting seasons shift, so do the ways in which I can give back. I once heard that giving has three forms: treasure, talent, and time, and each is helpful in its own unique way.
Giving treasure is the most straight forward: donating money or supplies. Refilling the little free libraries at 4H and Discovery Park is my favorite way to give treasure. Another favorite is participating in PMC’s Community Swaps, they are great examples of giving treasure, and if that’s something you’re interested in, the next one will be August 2nd. If you’d like to give back to the community sooner, consider buying a few packs of diapers or wipes for the Diaper Drive – details on the flyer below! All supplies will be handed out to local moms at the Baby Shower.
Giving talent is the most fun in my opinion. Coming up with ideas, helping plan out details, doing the leg work of research, and connecting the right people to the right resources is all giving talent. Giving talent also involves a bit of time – brain work isn’t spontaneous. For past Baby Showers, volunteers have helped with set-up and decorations, assembling backgrounds and balloon arches, and organizing donations. This year’s Baby Shower Theme: A Little Sprout is on the Way was voted on by PMC’s community, and some fun ideas have been contributed by members as well. If you’d like to give back to the community with your talent, send me an email with your ideas, I’d love to hear them and help you get involved.
Giving time is perhaps the hardest one of all, while simultaneously being the most accessible. While free time isn’t found in spades during early parenthood, the opportunities to volunteer time sure are. There is always, always something you can donate time to. Organizing and participating in meal trains, setting up and tearing down community swaps, taking donations to No to Abuse, and hosting events are all my favorite ways to give time. It can look like volunteering for events the day-of, or helping with the preparations. Sometimes giving time can be flexible, like picking up other’s donations for a community swap, but often it’s pretty rigid – volunteering for community work is usually scheduled in advance. If you’d like to give back to the community with your time, consider hosting an event or emailing pahrumpmotherscorner@runbox.com to volunteer for the Baby Shower.
Pahrump Mother’s Corner’s 4th Annual Baby Shower will be held May 24th, from 10am-1pm at the NAC Building at Nyecc Campus – 1020 E. Wilson Road. There will be free diapers and wipes, local resource booths, free face painting, snacks, baby shower games, and more. Additionally, Nye County Coalition has partnered with PMC to provide classes on safe sleeping and car seat safety, as well as free pack ’n plays and car seats for those who attend. Hope to see you there!
Disclaimer/Reality Check: No-one is giving all the time, and that’s A-OK. There have been plenty of months where keeping the kiddos safe, fed, clean, and loved was all I could handle – everyone has ups & downs. Give what you can, when you can. Know you are a good person and sometimes that has to just be enough. This column will be about motherhood, parenting, and homemaking for the most part. It might about why cats are the best pets (it’s true) or a lecture detailing why Costco flatbeds need child seats (also true). Most importantly, I don’t ever want this column to make another mama think she’s not doing enough. If you’re reading this, I want you to know that you are, you’re doing great, keep it up. Sing it with me: no-one is doing it allllll!
