MOMS Club trick-or-treating

The MOMS Club I'm a member of and treasurer for, arranged a trick-or-treating event for the kids at a local rehabilitiation center.  I borrowed this Minnie Mouse costume from our neighbor and off we went.  Elyse had a pretty good time grabbing the candy from the residents and stashing it into her bucket.  She was a little unsure of the wheelchairs carrying the sweet smiling faces hidden beneath a lifetime of wrinkles.  As I watched the residents watching the kids, I couldn't help but guess what their subtle grins and sparkling eyes were pondering.  Take away a few decades, liver spots, drooping eyelids and weakened joints and these were their kids or grandkids.  Take away a few more decades and this was them.  Would they want to change anything if they could go back?  What would advice would they give me, toddler in tow, newborn strapped to my chest, and fatigue upon my face?  Who were they years ago?  Profession?  Family?  I yearned to hear stories, to get to know them, to share their company.  Today was not the day for that as I followed the red dress with white polka dots while a sleeping ladybug rested with her cheek against my chest.

The joy our little ones brought them in such a short visit was so evident as the colorful costumes paraded and danced around a room where the onlookers couldn't even stand without help.  Upbeat music from generations past was being sung in person and, as a nurse, even I didn't notice the sterile white, aging tile, medicinal smell or stark white paint on the walls.  Joy visited them today and I'm grateful to have been a part of it.  They handed out so much more than candy to us today.

 This picture makes me chuckle because I can picture this, in another 16 years, except she fits in the seat, bubble gum replaces the lollipop and the Minnie dress is more mature for a school dance.  She confidently reverses out of the driveway and for the basillionth time I silently pray that we have equipped her.  Some days feel so long that it seems like I'll be dealing with toddler issues forever, other days I know I'll blink and this will be reality.