Micaiah will tell you, she had fun today with Grandma's Sissy. I had to answer her surprised inquiry, "Grandma has a baby?!" with the explanation that not all sisters are infants. Thus, we all headed out to visit my aunt in the nursing home in which she currently resides.
The aviary in the atrium and the playing of "Cootie" in the small dining area may have been the highlight of the two-year-old's day, but her presence alone (along with that of her brother) seemed to brighten the week of a few of the residents who merely watched these two babies parade through the halls.
It struck me to wonder how often many of these elderly saw anyone other than their comrades and the nurses working the halls. And of these possibly rare visits, how often do they truly have the pleasure of experiencing youth once more - of remembering the feeling of a baby in their arms or playing a board game with a toddler. To look ahead to a time when my baby days are long gone and I may sit forgotten in a small home is enough to make any visitor fear old age.
And so the cycle continues.
Their present brings to light our future and our choosing to remain in ignorant bliss leaves them in forgotten sorrow.
The question now is - what will I do to change this?
We try to take Amie to see Aunt Betty every Sunday (although the past few Sundays have been a no-show for us) and the residents really do love it. What a great way to testify to others and to help our children grow up being around "different" (in some cases) people and show that it can really be a cool thing. :)
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