Mitzvah Day

Rob and I participated in Mitzvah Day, an annual event during which the Jewish community spreads out to wreak good on Greensboro. Though the Hebrew word mitzvah literally means "commandment," it is most commonly used to mean a good deed - and though Rob and I are far from religious people, we like to do good now and then, to balance our sinful ways.

What appeared to be several hundred people gathered at Temple Emanuel this morning to embark on mitvah opportunities from visiting shut-ins to restocking the ReStore to what we did, which was manual labor at Bicentennial Garden. We pulled vines and spread mulch and likely horrified the one family not related to us in the group - typical of my family, my sister and her family, our mother and Rob and I teamed up and a morning of smart-assedness ensued. The non-related family smiled sweetly at us but there's no telling what the conversation at their house sounds like right now...

But we did get a lot done and are pleased to say the creek bed looks lovely with its renewed mulching. It was particularly satisfying to spend a morning beautifying a park that I have enjoyed my whole life, back when it was a tiny little thing, not nearly as developed and beautiful as it is today. It's easy to forget, having always lived in Greensboro, how lucky we are to have so many beautiful public spaces.