Celebrating Homeless Kids

How is any gift, or a birthday cake or a party enough to display to the piece of your heart the enormous amount of love that you carry for him? As we sat down to plan his extravagant birthday party, think of a theme that he’ll enjoy the most, and craft our way through it, we weren’t oblivious of the fact that there will be many kids who won’t celebrate birthdays this year. Their parents won’t have a home to gather all their loved ones in, or they won’t have enough money to buy a cake or present. They won’t be able to host a party, let alone think of a “theme”. We thought of those homeless kids in shelter who probably won’t cut a birthday cake this year or make a wish while blowing birthday candles. It sank our hearts to know that these kids will not be celebrated the way we want to celebrate our kid. 

Before I had a kid of my own, I had never felt so deeply and emotionally about kids. It had never struck so many chords at once, and choked me up at the same time. I was happy with the very little contribution I was making to the furry world, until this torture called motherhood dawned upon me. Now, my view lens has shifted focus and I see kids as the best thing that ever happened to humanity.

Yup! Motherhood changes you. I consciously make every effort to be a better person. To be the person my kid thinks I am.

So for Ansh’s second birthday, we decided to celebrate the homeless kids at Mary’s Place. Because every kid deserves to be celebrated. It was one of the most nourishing experiences of my life. It was sheer bliss to witness those kids have a blast. Their innocence, their carefree and relaxed spirit, and their loud- burst-their-veins kinda laughs, made my heart swell with a million emotions.

There’s one instance that will make my day brighter every time I think of it. We were playing musical chairs, and at the end it was down to 3 kids. The mothers of these kids stood on the side and were cheering on for them, as if they were playing Olympics. There was a lot of hooting and screaming going on. As the music stopped a kid made his way to the winning chair, and he instantly exploded with happiness. Somewhat, still in disbelief, he raised his arms victoriously and cheered himself on with booming enthusiasm. It was beyond adorable to watch him celebrate his win in Musical Chairs, but what absolutely melted my heart, and teared me up was the reaction his mother displayed. She was ecstatic, over the moon elated, and I don’t have words for it. I’ll leave it for you guys to watch it here. Most rewarding moment

I feel so rewarded to watch a precious moment like this. As a mother of a fairly privileged kid, I sometimes forget how important it is to celebrate every moment, and make a huge deal about it. I am thankful for the reminder and I hope to carry it with me lifelong.