Oct
30
Written by:
Kathleen Hart
10/30/2008 8:39 AM
While standing in the check-out line at Target over fall break, a four-year-old girl asked me if the Care Bear band-aids I was purchasing were for my kids. Embarrassed as I was, being a nineteen-year-old caught purchasing a product marketed to your average toddler, I responded with a laugh and something along the lines of “I’m too young to have kids!” But after heading out with my childish novelty, I couldn’t help but think of “my kids” back in Omaha— the students of Jackson Elementary School. Every Tuesday, I volunteer at their after school program with a group of Creighton freshmen. The first day I went, the chaos was overwhelming: the running, the screaming, and the rapid-fire Spanish phrases hurtling around me. But years of babysitting experience left me more than receptive to what those little kids turned out to be best at: lots of hugs and smiles. Every week, within the first five minutes of arrival, I am smothered by affectionate girls…and every once in a while an impish boy named Lulo. He’s mischievous but so cute! Whether it’s coloring, drawing bubble letters, doing homework, or playing games, my short visits every Tuesday usually puts me in a great mood. It’s nice to get away from the stresses of school once in a while and exist in a world where homework takes five minutes and recess is the most important part of the day. So, technically speaking, I might not have kids, but I have become attached to my Jackson elementary students in a similar way— if they were, I would totally buy them Care Bear band-aids. 
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