Day 106
A few years ago, the boys and
I helped serve breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House in downtown
Cincinnati. Across the street from
Children’s Hospital, it provides housing, food and support for families with children
receiving long-term treatment at the medical center.
The boys and I helped cut
fruit and stack bagels before joining a table where a little boy sat with his
mom. I can’t remember their
hometown but do recall they’d been living at the house for several weeks while
the boy underwent chemo. The boy’s
dad and siblings were back home.
They spoke nightly on the phone.
Looking at the child’s port
and baldhead, I saw the boy from a parent’s perspective. My heart hurt to see him so sick. His bravery in the face of something so
terrible was uplifting.
My boys saw him as someone
else to play cars.
“Can we stay and play?” they
asked after we’d cleared up the breakfast dishes. The little boy with the port stood beside them smiling. “In the playroom?” They pointed to a
room off the kitchen. Even from
here I could see the bright colors of plastic toys and trucks.
“Sure,” I said. And they were off. My boys weren’t fazed in the least by
the boy’s baldhead. To his credit,
he wasn’t fazed by the rowdiness of my boys.
I loved taking my boys and
have often thought we need to return with another meal.
I’m homebound with a sick F.
so checked online to find a day and time that might work. Valentine’s Day dinner is open. What a fun night to bring dinner, I
think. I’m thinking themed food
and lots of red food coloring.
Maybe red noodles with rolls cut with a heart-shaped cookie cutter? How about breadsticks in the shape of
Cupid’s arrows? This is going to
be great!
Before I commit, I need to
recruit some friends to join us.
Dinner involves serving 125 people and don’t know if the Ellis family
can manage this on our own.
Friends immediately respond back and it’s booked.
If you live in the Cincinnati
area and want to join in on the chaos fun, send me an email and I’ll
send you the details.
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