The Talking

Last fall Ruby and I started doing deliveries for an organization called Open Arms of Minnesota. It's an organization I used to work for some years ago, and it's essentially a meal delivery service for people with terminal illnesses (think Meals on Wheels, minus the old people). It began as a service for people with HIV/AIDS, but a couple years ago they expanded their mission to include others who are terminally ill. So every Thursday, after Ruby is done with preschool, we head over to Minneapolis and deliver meals to half a dozen or so folks.

Our particular route serves the southern edge of downtown Minneapolis, so all of our stops are apartment buildings. This means at each stop we have to get buzzed in to the building by calling up first. For some reason, this aspect of the delivering appeals to Ruby and she has taken to doing "the talking" part. I lift Rubes up so she can dial the number, and then when they answer she says something like this: "Michaelwe'reherewithadeliveryforyou" in the sweetest little 4-year old voice you've ever heard. All of the men we deliver to seem to find her very charming, and usually they make small talk with Ruby while I hand over the food.

Just today she added a new twist on things and made a point to tell all of these men as we were leaving, "Have a nice weekend!" I'm not sure what affect it has on their day, but it totally makes my heart sing.

[Edited to include the Open Arms website in case anyone wants to know more about Ruby's volunteer work: http://www.openarmsmn.org/ It's an amazing organization.]