Visiting nursing homes
When my oldest two children were around 1 and 3 I decided to take them to a local nursing home to visit the elderly. I'm very introverted by nature, so this was not easy for me. But I felt that God had put it on my heart and it wasn't going away. At the time I had a grandmother I loved dearly also living in a nursing home, but she was over 3 hours away. I couldn't visit her to cheer her up, but I figured I could cheer someone else's grandmother up. Bringing children to a nursing home is like instant joy. They light up with smiles when they would see my littles walk over to them. It's beautiful witness, but also heartbreaking, and I wish they had more opportunities to bond with the youngest in our society. One lady in particular took to them and would give them a piece of candy each time. She was so sweet and was so appreciative of our visits. Even when life got really busy and I couldn't come often, she still remembered us.