It’s Time for Spring and a Little Change
By Sommer Lally
The first day of Spring is tomorrow and I don’t know about you but, for me, it can’t get here soon enough! Maybe it has something to do with my name but I hate cold weather like a cat hates water so, the arrival of Spring is always something I look forward to. But this year I am especially excited. You see, I bought my first house last fall and I’ve not yet been able to enjoy basking in the sunshine in my new yard.
My husband and I already purchased and assembled (okay, okay, he assembled) a grill and have plans in the works for patio furniture. Even better, I’ve talked him into making improvements to our landscaping. As you can see, right now the landscaping leaves (no pun intended) a little to be desired.
I’m thinking some nice evergreen shrubs and some leafy bushes might do the trick. There’s just one little catch. As I’ve been reading up on landscaping tips, it has become clear – much to my chagrin – that we won’t reap the benefits immediately. It will take years for the shrubs and bushes we plant this spring to grow and mature into the beautiful landscape of my dreams. Slowly but surely, it will get there. I just have to be patient, which is not my strong suit.
When I think about it, landscaping is kind of like the work around community change that we’re doing here at Metro United Way. Community change doesn’t happen over night, it takes years to see the results of the work you’re putting in today. But you better believe when 2018 rolls around and all of the children in our community are prepared to enter kindergarten and half as many high students are dropping out, we will know that our efforts were worth it.
What about those of us who need to see the immediate results? I would put myself into this category which is where the grill and patio furniture come in. They’ll allow me to enjoy my yard immediately, albeit in a different way. The same is true for our focus on basic needs here at Metro United Way. Our investments in early childhood education and drop-out prevention will pay-off in the future while those in basic needs help the community right now.
It helps me to think of our work in this way. How do you think of Metro United Way’s work? What helps you to better understand and communicate to others what we do?
