One day a year my company tells everyone to “go work outside of our business and create change in the community ”

I put that in quotes, but it’s not a quotation… maybe I had a beer or two. Or three. Or a margarita, 

Anywhooo, 

This year we helped out Todd Elsworth. He has an amazing story and is now the director at Recreation Northwest. 

Here’s how charity day works:

I ask Siri where Fairhaven park is Thursday night, directions tell me it’s 53 minutes away. I set my alarm for 2 hours from deadline (7am). Good night. 

I haven’t slept until 7 in 5 years or so. 

Hattie cries for a ba-ba at 4:30, I feed the addiction and start the coffee, wait, I don’t start the coffee. I want to start the coffee but last night I started barbecueing (sp?) burgers and ran out of propane, switched to an electric grill, and piled those dirty dishes on top of yesterdays. Don’t you dare judge you prick, it happens. 

So I get through the first half sink of dishes when Jodi wakes up. She politely waits for me to make eye contact and asks if I would be so kind to start the coffee. 

Yes dear

I go to finish the other half-a-sink of dishes because the electro-skillet is still in my way. 

Dishes are done and I think I have a second to relax. A low moan interrupts that thought. Keenan needs a new diaper or else we will need to fight over laundry. 

The coffee maker dings, we now have 12 cups of wake up juice – fresh squeezed. I pour Jodi a cup the way she takes it. She’s out. Face down on the couch. 

Date rape ain’t what it used to be 

Of course I’m joking! We got kids in the house! 

I placed her coffee on the coffee table and turned on the news. 

Trump tweeted, the weather is hot, blah blah blah, 

Jump in the shower and enjoy the morning. You see, as a dad, that works, I get to hear how crazy every day is. It’s usually followed by “of course they’re like this now” ” but you should have seen how awesome Keenan handled… 

Any ways I’m supposed to be driving to charity day. So I fill my travel mug  with coffee and drive to Bellingham.  

The directions emailed to me lead to an apartment complex, I’m early, this is weird. So I ask Siri where the park is, it’s two minutes drive away. I drive it. I find the park, I have finished the coffee, time to pee. When I finish urinating, I see a group of people exiting the very building I found restrooms in. A couple stupid questions reveals that these are not the droids I am looking for. 

Once I found the upper parking lot, all was great. 

Todd

We signed in and met Todd. I am giddy and awkward simultaneously because I immediately recognized that he needs to promote his story and I am not established enough to break that cherry. ( that is such a gross saying but it’s meaning still resonates) 

So here we come to the actual charity contribution, there is roughly 30 people, and once Todd  gives us the “end plan” we split into groups and destroy the mission. We uprooted thistle, blackberry, and buttercup in a HUGE area. Ideally we were going to clear an area but we uncovered at least 6 “lost in overgrowth ” trees and native plants.  

Shannon is a hawk for grown over mulch and uncovered every tree in workstation #1.   

We learned how to properly mulch a native plant. 3 buckets per plant of mulch… 

in 3 hours we accomplished a lot

Then I went to the wrong bar 

I seriously thought I knew where we were going, and when I got there, I recognized it. 

I went absolutely on the other side of the marina. Eff you Siri. 

On the plus side, once I finally got to where I was supposed to go, Lisa had once again bragged my storytelling up to Todd. And I got to swap stories all lunch with a creator, a visionary, and most important, a doer. 

I won’t tell the stories swapping at our lunch, cause I’m coming back with a recorder!

Meanwhile, go visit Recreation Northwest & Bellingham Traverse

He took pictures, I didn’t… yo Todd- insert here: