Children are exhausting and there are times more often than we want to admit when children are made to feel like a bother. A friend of mine recently pointed out to me how deeply our eldest generation cherish children. She’s completely right.
I brought my little girl along to Bridle Brook Assisted Living, as I had set up a night to introduce the residents to Zumba Gold, a dance-fitness program. The class was modified to meet their needs. We danced from chairs and swayed to the music. My little Nora stole the show quickly making friends and fans.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” “Are you in pre-school?” “Look at all those curls!”
It was a special night. I was convinced the residents enjoyed the visit with my little girl but wasn’t certain how much they actually enjoyed the dancing. Heather Hoover, the Activity Director for Bridle Brook, assured me they were very happy with the class and she invited me back.
I have had a couple of sessions of Zumba Gold at Bridle Brook without my little sidekick and we have managed to have some fun without her. I had one woman tell me how she used to dance every weekend with her husband so she was happy to be able to dance again. It had been years. Another resident told me “my jitter bug days are gone” but maybe they aren’t!
My B.L.A.S.T. students at Lincoln Trail welcomed the opportunity to have the Bridle Brook Zumba friends join us at a Zumba Kids class. The Thursdayafternoon outing was memorable and so incredibly special. They participated and provided a great audience for the hard-working kids. The Crafty Kids B.L.A.S.T. class made little lanterns for the Bridle Brook residents to take home as a thank you for stopping by.
From my generation to yours, thank you for the reminder to cherish our children. They are exhausting, they don’t have control of their emotions, but they are just little people. Little tech crazed people. You remind us often that “they grow up so fast”. We will do our best to appreciate them. We owe it to you, the generation that taught us (and our parents) to use a spoon.
