Recognizing our Blessings
During our Thanksfriendsmas gathering, my friend Stephanie and I randomly got on the topic of wanting to do some volunteer work with our sons. For some reason, I've had the age of five in my mind as a good time to start enforcing the importance of recognizing how much we have to be thankful for and giving back to others in need. But the idea of taking Jakob into a soup kitchen didn't feel quite age appropriate. Steph had been thinking of signing Finn up to bake at the Ronald McDonald House in Burlington, but she was hesitant to try it alone. Together we felt certain the kids would love it and it would be a fantastic experience. Steph set it up, and I started talking to Jakob about how lucky we are and why I wanted us to try this out together. I assured him there would be no sick kids at the house but that we might get to meet some of the families. He didn't seem particularly interested, but he also didn't say no.
Fast forward a couple of weeks to the morning of the baking. Both Finn and Jakob were less than enthusiastic about it, and Jakob told me on the way over that he really hoped none of the family members of the sick children would be there. Truth be told, for the first time, I was hopeful that there would be no one around too, just so we could get an easy experience under our belts. Well, sure enough, the house was full when we arrived, and there was a family with six kids in the kitchen when we walked in. The mother had just given birth to twins, and although one of the boys was totally healthy and in his father's arms, the other had been born with a condition where his organs were outside of his body. They expected to live in the RMH for at least 6-8 weeks, all in one bedroom, while the baby recovered. Jakob and Finn stared at the family with wide eyes, until the healthy baby made some tiny baby cooing noises. Jakob asked if the baby was okay, and the father lowered him down so Jakob could see his face and touch his tiny feet. Then one of the older siblings took Jakob and Finn into the toy room, which was amazing. It took some convincing to get them back into the kitchen, and then we had a blast making chocolate dipped pretzels and corn flake holly clusters. After cleaning up, Finn and Jakob played on the playground and cheered on fire trucks that drove by. All in all, it was a hugely successful trip! Steph and I are hoping to do it every couple of months.
Lots and lots of reasons to be thankful this holiday season. We hope your Christmas is filled with lots of love and cheer!
Fast forward a couple of weeks to the morning of the baking. Both Finn and Jakob were less than enthusiastic about it, and Jakob told me on the way over that he really hoped none of the family members of the sick children would be there. Truth be told, for the first time, I was hopeful that there would be no one around too, just so we could get an easy experience under our belts. Well, sure enough, the house was full when we arrived, and there was a family with six kids in the kitchen when we walked in. The mother had just given birth to twins, and although one of the boys was totally healthy and in his father's arms, the other had been born with a condition where his organs were outside of his body. They expected to live in the RMH for at least 6-8 weeks, all in one bedroom, while the baby recovered. Jakob and Finn stared at the family with wide eyes, until the healthy baby made some tiny baby cooing noises. Jakob asked if the baby was okay, and the father lowered him down so Jakob could see his face and touch his tiny feet. Then one of the older siblings took Jakob and Finn into the toy room, which was amazing. It took some convincing to get them back into the kitchen, and then we had a blast making chocolate dipped pretzels and corn flake holly clusters. After cleaning up, Finn and Jakob played on the playground and cheered on fire trucks that drove by. All in all, it was a hugely successful trip! Steph and I are hoping to do it every couple of months.
Lots and lots of reasons to be thankful this holiday season. We hope your Christmas is filled with lots of love and cheer!
Comments
Post a Comment