My sons and I recently spent a beautiful spring evening entertaining two very the grassy yard of The Cottage at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, within the gates of Rock Creek Cemetary. We were there in answer to a call in the Holy Trinity e-newsletter for volunteers bring dinner for two families living there with the support of the Capital Network. The notice had mentioned that the families had young children that would enjoy the company of other children. My 9-year-old and 6-year-old boys love young children and were excited at the prospect of entertaining the toddlers while their mothers had some quiet time for themselves.

When we arrived at The Cottage, one of the mothers and her 1-year-old daugther were waiting on the front porch. I let them into the house using the code I had been given. While I heated up the simple supper I had brought, my boys entertained the little girl. With supper ready on the stove, my boys and I took the little girl outside so her mother could have some dinner and relax a bit. The second family arrived while we were outside and the two-year-old boy happily joined us. We spent about an hour outside in the lovely yard, exploring, chatting with a passing neighbor and patting a friendly dog, blowing dandelion puffs, and playing catch with a ball we had brought along. We finally went inside so the mothers could feed the children to bed. The moms were quiet, but clearly appreciated some time alone while their children were safely occupied.

On the way home, my boys chatted about how cute the children were
asked why the moms weren't more friendly. This gave us an opportunity to talk about how the uncertainty of homelessness must feel and what it would be like to rely on others for meals and shelter. And to have little support when raising very active young children! These are things that even a 6 and 9 year old can consider and appreciate. Service is an important part faith and I hope to instill that value in my children. I appreciate the opportunities that Holy Trinity Church and School provide for my family to be involved in our community and be in service to others.