I just left the Children’s Hospital after being there for two hours. What an amazing time I had! I got to visit with a few of the children that I met last week and share new stories. I love having the chance to perform for people who’ve already seen me perform.
Today was a bit different. I usually visit a play room and then spend my time visiting bed sides. Today I spent most of my time in two different play rooms and visited fewer rooms.
An interesting occurrence happened when I arrived at the hospital. There was a young father there entering at the same time as I was with his daughter. We exchanged pleasantries and he let me know that his younger daughter was a patient in the hospital. He was very interested in having me tell his daughters a few stories. As fate would have it, the children’s services representative had me start on the same floor as his daughter, in the play room. The young father and his two daughters entered the room just as I was about to begin. What a great feeling!
All of the children, and adults as well, were very engaging in the 3rd floor playroom. Have you ever had one of those moments when everything is in sync, everything just seems to fall into place? Today’s performances were like that for me the whole day.
When I was finishing up I asked the father if he had any questions. He asked me for one more song. How could I resist? I immediately thought back to the time I was leaving Children’s Hospital a few years ago and came across a man sitting in his car crying. Being a father myself, that was one of the most difficult encounters I ever had. We men don’t typically share emotions and I didn’t know how to comfort the father I came across in the car.
I played one more song for the young father in the playroom and sang. He was so grateful that it made me feel really good about my work. I think sometimes when we thing about serving the children stricken with illness in hospitals such as these, we forget that there are whole families affected by their diseases.
Previously I got a chance to tell a few tales in Spanish. I love it when I get the chance to use my other language skills. Today I met a woman from Cuba and got a chance to chat in Spanish with her. I love Cuban culture!
I meet so many people through my work that I sometimes feel as though I’ve got the greatest job in the world.
I went into the room of a 3 year old girl. Now you might think that a 3 year wouldn’t have the focus or concentration to listen to a story from start to finish, but this little girl was not your average 3 year old.
Of course you have to give a 3 year old exactly what they want, nothing less. The child wanted a “Princess” story and so a “Princess” story she received. I love telling tales to this age when they have her level of focus. She smiled during the story, laughed when it was appropriate and showed me a level of respect beyond her years. It was awesome!
Well I guess you all can tell how my day went. It was an extraordinary day. Thanks for taking the time to read.
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