Sweet Moments

Last night I took the WAM Singers to the Martha House for a visit. We had last been to the Martha House in October and the kids were eager to go back. I had parents tell me, “We’re skipping dance class that night because she doesn’t want to miss any of it”; “I’ll get the (permission) form in because she wants to go.” The plan was to sing a few songs, read scripture together and decorate cookies while having conversations with the elders. We practiced faith talk questions in case they couldn’t think of things to say… questions like, “Where did you go to church?” and “What did your Christmas programs look like?”

Awesome parent volunteers agreed to drive half of the 23 children, and Tabitha sent a van to pick up the rest. The parent drivers headed out with their kiddos but unfortunately there was a mix-up with keys for the van driver who arrived 20 minutes late. When I later asked Elise, who had ridden in a parent car, “What did you do while you were waiting for us??” She said, “Oh we did lots of stuff. The grandmas all wanted hugs and then we talked about stuff like our favorite colors. One grandma couldn’t remember what her favorite song was, so we listed off a bunch and then she said she liked “Amazing Grace.” A parent told me that while the kids were all coming in, one elder blurted out, “Are they letting the dogs out?” (As far as I know there are no pets at the Martha House.) That same woman gently fingered a prayer shawl that we had given to her.

On the way back to church, I asked the girls in the van how they thought the visit had went. Here are some responses: “I liked the cookies!” “That one lady was singing the wrong words with us.” “One grandma told me I could go home with her.” All those stories made me smile, but I think my favorite moment was watching a brown haired, 7-year old girl, perfectly decorate her cookie, and then walk over to one of the elders and shyly say something to her. The elder reached for the cookie, broke off a piece and grinned while she ate. Then the little one happily skipped back to the table to finish her cookie. Sweet moments…

As I was making my way to each of the elders to tell them good-bye, one grandma told me, “They are so good to watch.” Another let me know that “They are doing great things!” and wouldn’t let go of my arm until I promised to tell them. Then she said “But don’t tell them too many times.” My favorite nurse, Paul, shared with me that the 5 elders who gathered to visit with us are the ones that he has trouble finding enough things to stimulate them throughout the day. We agreed that they would sleep well that night!