Volunteering with the Old People

Tomorrow will be a big day! A National Holiday and the Presidential Inauguration! Wow! Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday! So Daddy and I thought it would be nice to volunteer, as a family on this holiday since he was about service. My suggestion was to volunteer with the elderly. There is an assisted living facility nearby- actually just a five to ten minute walk. I just thought it would be different and I have a heart for the elderly. "Aren't they old people?" our son asked. "Well, yes but doesn't elderly sound better?" I responded. "And we need to respect our ElDERS." I added. More questions followed: "So what are we gonna do with the old- I mean the elderly people?" Our eleven-year-old chuckled. I didn't ask what she was laughing about. I'm not elderly yet but wise in my own right. I was once a little, silly, girl too. "Well, we you and your sister could read to them. They would appreciate that." "They don't read the same books I read Mama," he replied. I tried to suggest other things. "Well, the people who work there may have suggestions. When I was a teenager and volunteered a lot, I played games like BINGO with the elderly and they enjoyed that." Surely other activities have been created after 25 years. Smiling, his sister said, "Maybe we could let them listen to music on our MP3 players." She can be so charming and creative. "Do we have to go help old- I mean elVerly people we don't know?" he asked. "I know some, old, elVerly people we can help." "It's elDerly. Who?" I asked. "Grandma and Papa!" I'll probably break a nail calling them to tell them this! My parents are in in their early 60s and so are my in-laws!