How Old Are You? - Day Four

There were fewer babies on my floor today than last week, so I was able to interact with some of the older children. I spent half my time with the babies, rocking them to sleep, and the other half with a 7 year old and a 4 year old. With older children, I do have interesting conversations...

I'm often told that I do not look 18 years old, and today was no different. Instead of rocking a 5 month old baby the entire day, I was able to make a puzzle, paint, and talk to some of the older patients (but they're still young). There was this four year old. She was feeling a little lonely, so I offered to play games with her and paint a princess picture with her. She and I started to put a Princess Sophia puzzle together when I asked her

"So how old are you?"

She responded, "I'm four...are YOU four too?"

I'm not sure if she really thought I was four or if she was just being social, but I smiled a bit and simply said, "No I'm a bit older than that."

While I was painting with the 7 year old, she was marveling at the fact that she had just painted a beautiful apple tree. I asked her if art was her favorite subject.

She said, "I should become an artist when I grow up so I can help people."
I was quite heartened by her response. It was really sweet that she wanted to help people by becoming an artist when she was older.

Little conversations like these just brighten my day at the hospital.

~Clare