taking care

i'm beginning to see a trend in my life, a pathway of sorts lined with people in need, lonely people, disabled people, dysfunctional people, dying people...and they've asked me to care for them. i guess it never really struck me until this week, finishing up a week long nannying session for twin 6 year olds, one boy, one girl, whose parents were dealing with some...thangs.... i started to think back to the many random caretaker experiences i've had, even this past year filled with house-sitting and dog-sitting.

i like it. it's strange, these brief spaces of time that you are allowed into the world of a person or family, to fill a need or just to comfort a hurt, and then it's over, and they move on...i've walked away from these experiences thinking, "well, another strange adventure" or "why would God ask me to do this?" i remember one time fearing that God had called me to care for the dying, because many of the elderly women i was spending time with seemed to be passing on.

i haven't processed through all of this, but it has been food for my thoughts, what does it mean to be called to take care? i'm glad that he has allowed me to have so many of these experiences. my life is fuller because of them.

some fun things to recap on from my most previous adventure with the kiddos -

their conversation about what it means to be good: "so, no butt biting or butt slapping?"
"megan, we're having an amazing time!" who says this at age 6?
we had a dance party complete with sweet moves from b. and k. who broke it on down!
we also had a fashion show, inspired by the boy, of course. they did their fashion runway walks for my camera. it was amazing.
i taught them how to make paper snowflakes, which means that i showed them how to do it myself, and then they complained until i did theirs as well.
when i took them to the zoo they only wanted a snow cone, a merry-go-round ride, cotton candy, a camel ride, to leave because they were tired, and then to stay and see every one of the animals, soda, candy, ice cream, and paddle boat rides...that's it.
and then of course the funny incident with the very male zebra. b. was curious how i was so certain that the zebra was in fact male. and k. stated with certainty that she knew how to tell the difference between males and females. the hooves. :) i was so relieved!

it was a wonderful time, and i'm looking forward to many more to come.