The party this afternoon was not well attended, that’s a good thing.
12/08/2007
I helped with the 4th annual Holiday party for the local emergency children’s shelter this afternoon. I told work I would be unavailable for 4 hours, turned the cell phone and the pager off. It was too special for me to be distracted by the outside world.
We only had 5 younger ones and 6 older teens today and no toddlers in the mix. I knew we were low on suite case stock, lots of kids moving on to the next place, but it was a small party. I think the babe’s out numbered the kids 2 to 1 this year. We still had a lovely afternoon, lots of crafts and games and toys for all the kids. We were never able to replace the Elf, who has moved with her husband to Mexico. I guess with the lack of middle age kids, it worked out just fine.
I fell in love with the little boy I had charge of, N. He is 18 months old, beautiful brown eyes but a bit fussy. He doesn’t crawl yet, doesn’t walk yet, but he is making a lot of progress since he got to the shelter a few weeks ago. He was sleeping in my arms, curled up on my lap and we sat and watched the band play and I held him as he tired to dance a bit with the music.
I saw the expression on one the little girls face as she opened the present that I got her for Christmas: she was wheel chair bound, but she has a smile that lights up the room. She was ringing her jingle bells along with the music and enjoyed the spaghetti dinner we provided for the kids before the presents.
The older kids were playing games, decorating cookies and a couple of them got up and sang with the band. They were a little more skeptical when it came time for gifts. One young man asked me what we were giving all of them. He then noticed that each gift bag had a name tag attached to it. I let him know that each gift was chosen specifically for that child. He was quite surprised when he got a digital camera and another electronic gadget in his bag. Two of the young ladies got nail polish kits: lots of glitz and glam. One got a sparkle makeup bag and another electronic gadget. I guess it is different for the older kids: sometimes it takes a while for them to come around to strangers but I did notice as their van pulled away, they were all smiling and waiving to the ladies that helped put the party on.
I am always glad I can do just a small part to make the lives of these kids a bit better. I know some of them got the bad parent card, they haven’t had an easy time of their short lives, but with some great staff at the shelter, they are growing and learning in a wonderful, supportive, stable environment. Each child leave the shelter with a special decorated suite case for there travels along the way. I hope it reminds them that there are people that care very much about them.
Happy Christmas Kids.
