stop hunger now

neither liam or susanna are eager beavers when it comes to trying new things.  there are some kids -- believe me, i've seen them -- who will bound out of the car for their first day at a new school or new camp or new whatever with an excited smile on their face, ready to meet new friends and do something different.  they're not intimidated by the unknown, or afraid of not fitting in or sticking too far out or being lonely.

these are not our children. 

no, neither of them exactly welcome change.  they're like their parents, in that they like to sort of know what they're getting into and want to assess the situation before diving in headfirst. but once they've done just that, liam will walk forward and join in.  he'll often glance back a time or two for reassurance, but within a minute or so he's acclimated and enjoying himself.  susanna, on the other hand, still clutches my hand.  if she finds a friend, she'll let go of me and go grab that friend's hand, and all is well in the world.  but if she doesn't know anyone, well, it can take a long time for me to detach myself from her vise-like grip.

every once in a while, however, they'll surprise us.  take last sunday, for example.  our church supports the Stop Hunger Now program at least once a year, and for a few hours, converts our huge parish hall into a mini food packing factory.  hundreds of parishioners, most of whom are still dressed in their church clothes, place quite fetching hairnets atop their heads and gloves on their hands and get to work.  we packaged 20,000 meals for children all over the world that sunday, and had a grand time doing it.

just when we were getting into the groove of it all, i realized that the kids' sunday school classes were ending and i needed to retrieve them down in their classrooms.  as we ascended the stairs back to the main floor, i thought, you know, they could totally help out.  there was plenty they could do.  and so into the parish hall we went.

and this is where the surprise comes.  guess who took one look at the hubbub -- with music blaring and adults running about and a huge gong clanging each time we hit another 1,000 meals -- and immediately decided to join in?  why, that would be susanna.

susanna was our table's "runner", transporting our packaged meal bags to the weighers who would then use scales to make sure they were they contained the right amount before sealing and boxing them

and liam, after initially declaring that he was not interested in participating, came around after a minute or two.  he actually joined a table half a room away from the rest of us, serving as a team member with several adults generations older than he.  and had a marvelous time.

liam assumed the role of rice mann, scooping out a cup at a time and pouring it into the bags.  and never fear -- my rule-following boy would never have handled the food without having on gloves.  this photo was taken after all was finished

but.  i will say this.  as much as we all enjoyed the experience and cannot wait to do it again ... we did not have rice that evening for dinner.