Have You EVER?

      I was tipped off yesterday that there are now three 8-year-olds and the 2-year-old at the shelter. I hate it that children must live in a shelter, but I love it when I have opportunities to brighten their days there. So I packed four bags for the kids, carefully selecting items that would not be repeats from last week. And thanks to my neighbor, I have a stash of school supplies, so the older kids got a good start on those.

       When they came to lunch, I gave each child his or her bag. If only you could have seen the glee in their eyes, the open smiles of surprise, the little leaps of joy. If only you could have heard the high-pitched "What'd you get? What'd you get!" And the lunch half hour stretched far longer as the children plundered through their goodies. The boy who got the Beanie snake must have come to the counter 5 or 6 times with, "How'd you know reptiles are my favorite?" Then, "He already likes me, see?" brandishing the snake curled around his wrist. And "His name is Hissy, you know!"

       That was irresistible. "He could have a real hissy fit, couldn't he?" Laughter continued.

       The little girl brought her purple Beanie bear to the counter to tell me that one of the other residents has begun calling her Princess, and that her Beanie's name is also Princess. It is—right there on the tag.

       The boy with the snake came several other times to say, "I just want to thank you again." We're talking about 8-year-olds—8-years-olds who are living with hard times but who apparently have so much support that they don't know they have hard times. It's a beautiful thing to see.

       I've saved the sweetest for last. The 2-year-old sat in his highchair rolling his Fisher Price Bug back and forth across the tray until its wings lit up. I thought he might be too old for it, but he's just right. He also got some big crayons for little fingers and a fuzzy lion to sleep with. Pardon me for saying it, but i had the best time ever!

       As for the food, we served that nasty chicken salad (after I rinsed it in a sieve and doctored it), home fries, fruit, cucumber salad that Mr. A. made, and chocolate cake. Too, in the pantry was enough candy to choke an elephant, so I put several pieces on every plate.

       Our C&W music was spot-on all morning, and Crazy didn't show up today (always a pleasure). Another pleasure was meeting our newest gatekeeper, a young man fresh from college.

       All-in-all, the lunch event was a happy time for many of us, and I found it hard to leave, even after 3 hours.