This day made possible by meditation

This Sunday I had an extraordinary day that revolved around the theme of service.
I have recently been practicing insight meditations of how I can be more of service. I have tried to envision myself helping my children, my wife, the elderly, infirm, homeless and others.
This weekend I offered to care for my children while my wife recharged her batteries in NH.
The kids and I went on a hike on Saturday to Mt Jacob in Gloucester. The kids had a ball and I was mindful of their needs during the trip. I brought snacks, drinks and even toilet paper:)
Later that evening we took my mom out to dinner to her favorite restaurant which brought her great joy.
I was able to teach my Sunday school class with my 2 eldest children and I taught them about prayer and thanksgiving. My son created a prayer necklace with beads representing his sisters, mother, cat and chickens. It was adorable.
Later on Sunday when my wife returned from NH we were driving to the beach when her grandmother called. Her cousin with Cerebral Palsy had come for a visit and she wanted to see the kids. Here is where the meditation kicked in. I the past I would make an excuse that my wife and I needed to enjoy this last beach day of the season. But through my meditation I had been envisioning myself as someone who could help others, and I realized that this was an opportunity to fulfill a need to help others. We turned the car around and headed into the city on potentially the last beach day of the season.
After a great visit with our relatives we still were able to enjoy an hour at the beach at our favorite time of day, sunset.
At 6:00 I asked Jennifer if I could go back to the church and help my friends cook a meal for needy people in town. She agreed. I tried to convince my eldest daughter to come, but she was too tired. I believe that if I had not meditated on this topic that I would not have been so adamant about requesting the time. It would have been easy to forget about the opportunity or rationalize and excuse like needing to put the kids to bed.
When I arrived at the church we worked on cutting veggies, opening cans and preparing chili for 2 hours. It brought the group closer together around the worthy cause of helping people who need it.
Earlier in the day my wife had offered to let me go off and play a round of golf. I made a conscious decision, aided by meditation, to do something more fulfilling.