Making Kids Smile

"You thirsty?" Ron asks me as he drives. I look up from my clipboard to where he is pointing, and I smile. "Absolutely," I reply as he pulls our ambulance in at the curb and parks.

You've never seen bigger grins on kids faces then when you pull over at their little Kool Aid stands in an ambulance. If we are not busy, and are on our way back from somewhere, taking two minutes to stop and make some kids day is well worth it, and judging from their reactions, you would think we were royalty. They can't wait to tell their friends and parents that an ambulance stopped by their little stand!

Two girls and a boy have a stand today. Lemonade Kool Aid. 50 Cents a glass, but Ron and I each pay a dollar and tell them to keep the change. The kids are thrilled and eagerly chat with us thru my open door. They peek inside and when they ask Ron if he will turn on the lights he does for a moment, and this thrills them. I sip my Kool Aid and double blink, before smiling and telling the kids thank-you this really "hit's the spot!"

Heading on our way again I non-chalantly watch Ron out of the corner of my eye. He pulls out, turns the corner and we wind our way into the traffic. He absently picks up his cup to take a drink, and his reaction is instantaneous. "Holy Hell!" he barks when the apparently unsugared Lemonade Kool Aid with extra lemon slice actually reaches his taste buds. The look on his face was priceless, a true Kodak moment missed and it made me laugh so hard I actually snorted, to which he gave me his scowly face look before laughing too.

Ron is not a kid person, but after riding with me over the years, he has come around to stopping for the kids. He knows it makes me smile and I enjoy stopping, but I secretly think he enjoys it too. It's one time that kids are thrilled to see us, when they are not screaming or scared or hurt and in pain. Seeing them like this does us good, and it's a good for kids to see us as regular people too, not just the people who come in an emergency. Puts a positive spin on life for all of us. Maybe the Kool Aid was sour enough to pucker your face off, but it was worth it just to make those kids smile.