Cupcake Day

Tonight was my first Team Lead event with New York Cares. The hospital volunteer coordinator met me and we set up the Pediatrics Activity room with colorful table coverings and balloons. We then picked up the cupcakes and ice cream (after a bit of tracking down where they went) and I went to meet the volunteers. My NYCares Project Contact overbooked since this was the first time for the event, so there were 8 volunteers who signed up. 3 canceled today, and 1 didn't show. But we probably had just the right amount with the 5 of us. I think it went really well and all the kids and their parents appreciated the diversion from the hospital. So yay! Unfortunately, I have my classes starting, so it's not certain I can lead another one until August. There may be an opening in the first week of July, but with the holiday and only 5 days break, I may need the rest. In any case, it was a successful event!

So... a little side note. There were lots of things for the kids to do while they ate, like playing games, coloring, and—building with foam building blocks. Now that was interesting. The blocks were FOAM, but looked like real wood blocks. So I thought, until the towering structure one child made, toppled. And there was no sound. Now, this is in a hospital, so I understand. But it got me thinking of how this world has become so over-cautious. I wonder how many schools use foam building blocks these days. It saddens me a bit.

I grew up with real blocks. And probably worse toys that might give a bruise or poke someone. We had a toy bin with toy metal guns that looked real (ok, I was in the suburbs of CT, and this was a while ago). In the backyard, I played on a "jungle gym" made of different colored bars in various stages of rust. I don't know how many times I hung upside down and fell from one of those bars. I also climbed trees in the backyard and had a few tumbles down, hitting several branches on the way. Our backyard sloped downwards to a natural wetlands (we called it a swamp) with skunk cabbages and cattails. I used to play in those waters, looking for whatever creature might be in there. Often, I'd just see snakes slither by. Nothing too exciting. But I fondly remember a playhouse that my ingenious father had built for us near the vegetable garden. It consisted of two levels and you climbed a ladder to an open rooftop about 10 feet (or more?) high. At about 5 yrs old, one of my childhood friends was visiting and stepped on a rusty nail that pierced her sneaker and foot. There were no hysterics or threat of lawsuits that I remember. I'm sure she had had a tetanus shot, and if not, received one. That was it. My father, probably thinking this was a good time to update the playhouse (it had been old), tore it down and built another one that resembled our house with matching paint, a red floor inside, and a pitched roof. Real windows with shutters opened outwards, and stayed open with a latch. A small ladder led to a "sleeping loft" that fit one child, lying down. It was very simple, but amazing for a kid! Yes, it's a different time, but it's unfortunate it's come to this. A little rough and tumble can be good.