The Road Home

On November 2 I had the opportunity to volunteer at The Road Home. Mermaid Lei Loni had arranged for an event and asked for more volunteers. I was so excited to do this!

The day of the event, my mertender and I snagged a couple of pirates and headed to The Road Home. As we drove (about a 30 minute drive) I began to feel sick. I was really worried that I'd end up getting to The Road Home and have to turn around and go back! I'm so glad I decided to try and stick it out for as long as I could. Mermaid Janelle gave me some peppermint beadlets, and I was ready to go.

We met the rest of our group in the back office area of the shelter. Loni was in a wheelchair and already in tail, Janelle was in her "walking" tail. I changed into my own tail, and we had fun chatting as people clustered in the doorway trying to get a look at us. The hit of the show was our Captain Jake, people were so amazed at his resemblance to Captain Jack Sparrow!

Our Group in the Playroom.
From left to right: Captain Jake, Nick, Koral, Thalassa, Gawain (mertender), Janelle, Lei Loni.

When it was time to start my mertender carried me to the playroom. It wasn't my first time in a shelter, but it's always hard to see the conditions these people live in. The rows of cots, items which are likely everything they own piled on these little beds. I kept trying to lift my tail to make sure I didn't hit anything or anyone. A few children were following me and asking questions, I did my best to answer them over my mertender's shoulder. I could already tell this would be a lot of fun.

We arrived at the playroom, and set up. I realized I had forgotten my sea chest with goodies in it, but my wonderful mertender had brought seashells for me to hand out. When we were ready to go, the barrage began! ;-)

The next hour or so was a blur of children, handing out shells, and answering questions. The children were amazingly polite, many of them thanking us and watching carefully to be sure they didn't tread on our tails. I was "attacked" for a bit by little humans who wanted to tickle my fluke, they love how I giggle. There were a few girls who stayed by Mermaid Koral and I, asking questions and (for me) answering them. I always find its fun to let children show you what they know. I marveled at toes that moved separately from each other, learned about foot-coverings called "shoes," and was pleasantly flummoxed by a method of hair-weaving called a "braid." Koral had an adorable little girl who kept telling her, "You're my favorite, I really do like you." We were joined by a few more mermaids later on, but I had to leave because I was feeling sick again.

These children were so...amazing. Doing things like this always reinforces the fact that kids are kids, no matter where they grow up. They're all kids trying to do their best. I had a wonderful time doing this, and I can't wait to participate in more events like this one at The Road Home.