I had a strange memory a couple of days ago and decided to blog it so that I wouldn't forget it.
When I was young...think age 5 -8 we lived about 4 miles from a nursing home. It was a small one and quite sad. It looked like the old hospitals...white walls, no decor,etc. My mother used to got there a couple of times a month and volunteer to cut hair there. They had this little closet of a room that had a hair dryer, beauty sink, etc. My mom never cut hair for a living...she just could do the basics.
It taught me a few things:
1. Its sad to see lonely people. Most people rarely or never had vistors and they would try to get you to sit and talk to them so that they could tell you their life story.
2. Old people become children again. There was this lady named Zety and Zetty liked to feel dressed up. She was always seen with a hat on her head (usually a cheap hotel type shower cap :-) and lots and lots of cheap sparkly beads around her neck (think 99 cent store). She looked like a kid that got lost in her mothers closet playing dress up!
There was also another lady that carried a baby doll with her wherever she went.
3. It will amaze you what some people can do with yarn! There was this really crafty lady that would sell little rabbits made of yarn (she made lots of other stuff too.) I remember that I wanted one and didn't get it, but my mom had actually bought one for me for Easter. I still have it and it makes me smile everytime I see it.
4. Old people love to be sung too. You'll never see them smile a bigger smile.
5. Old people think its good to see little kids running around being kids, but they think it is even better when those kids show up on Halloween with their costume on passing out candy!
If you really want to make their day...see number 4 above and do it with your costume on.
6. Making peoples day makes your day.
So if you are wondering if there is something you can do that is service oriented with your kids...find a nursing home and think of something simple you can do. I plan on doing something this summer with my girls at that same nursing home I went to.
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1 comment:
That is a great idea. That's also cool that your Mom was willing to show you that it's ok to go out on a limb; even though she wasn't a whiz with the scissors, she was willing to spend her time there and help out. I wish more people would look at life that way...Thanks for the great post!
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