Although I enjoyed my new life and the time it freed up, there always seemed to be something missing. I thought it was a result of going from a high-activity career to a life of1. The retirement honeymoon lasted for one whole enjoyable year. Golf took up most of my summer, curling (冰壶) in the winter, and hiking2the times between. At the end of that first year, I was asked by a friend to help out at a local food bank that3a winter soup kitchen. Initially, my responsibility was not too 4. It started out to be only one day a week and took just two hours of my time. The task involved going to the local food bank, 5 my car with pre-selected food items, and driving them to the kitchen6 the weekend. Within a few weeks, I was also helping to sort out the food I was bringing to the charity organization. This soon 7 into preparing the cookers and dishes for the weekend event. My duties were 8 from one week to the next, which kept things interesting. Sometimes, I would help serve meals; other days, I would fill in for sandwich makers who hadn't turned up for their9.
People who came for the free meals were diverse. Some were homeless, and others were individuals who had fallen on hard times. The common thing uniting all the guests was their 10 toward the volunteers. Most diners would thank the people from whom they had received help. That was a wonderful reward for our efforts. Another wonderful thing was that the food was given11. There was never any expectation to gain public12for their donations; they just did it.
Gradually, my volunteering 13 have now grown to include two days at the food bank plus the weekend. Although it cost much more time than I first began this volunteering task, I found my time volunteering14. I can safely say that I get much more 15out of this type of activity than I ever managed to get from any round of golf or game of curling.
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