Sometimes it is quiet ones that get you.

Even superheros take the bus!

Last Saturday, Big Love Bus staff was busy doing what they get a huge kick out of...spreading the love and giving back to their community. What started out to be a fun project ended up filling my heart up!

I was approached a few weeks ago by Tanna Clark, founder of Grace & Glory, to help them deliver some really cool handmade superhero capes and tutus to children living at Safe Haven Family Shelter in Nashville.  

Grace & Glory has an interesting story.  You see, I actually had met Tanna before.  A few years ago when we were trying to sell our old house, I was making at least biweekly trips to Goodwill to get rid of some of the stuff we had accumulated over the eight years we lived there.  Unbeknownst to me, each time I made a donation to Goodwill, I was entered into a contest to win a day with a personal organizer.  Well, you can probably see where this is going.  I got a call saying I won the contest.  Lucky me! At that point we had two small children, a smallish house, and a ton of STUFF.  I got two days with Tanna, of Complete Organizing Solutions.  She managed to get my husband's closet in shape - we could even shut the door without forcing it - and my closet looked like a boutique.  It was great.  Well, fast forward a few years and Tanna got interested in the non-profit Soles 4 Souls.  She wanted to see where all their shoes were going, so she took a trip to Haiti, where, according to Tanna, she was "wrecked."  I really got the impression that this experience changed her so profoundly that she was searching and yearning for some way to make her own change in the world.  Grace & Glory came out of that experience.  She now uses Grace & Glory to Fight Hunger, Encourage Play and Give Hope to Children in Need of a Brighter Tomorrow by delivering capes and tutus to children in need, both domestically and in Haiti.  She now also offers Bags of Hope, sweet drawstring bags that contain basic necessities like shampoo, soap, and toothpaste.  In fact, she is even building a school in Haiti! You can donate to Grace & Glory here.

When she contacted me, she didn't initially remember our connection. I initially told her we were committed to helping another non-proft. However, plans changed and we had some free time with the bus.  I think this was yet another way of someone and something being placed in my life for a reason.  I called Tanna and we made quick plans for a delivery using the Big Love Bus!!!

Glenn trying to find his color!

Glenn Remick, our driver, was SO on board with this endeavor that he even donated his time.  Actually, he was roped into one of these "cold water challenges" and named Grace & Glory as the benefactor before being sprayed by a FIRE HOSE! We met on Saturday morning, loaded tutus and capes onto the bus, accompanied by Tanna's sweet but shy son Samuel.  

When we arrived at Safe Haven, I'll be honest that I was somewhat disappointed that there were only a handful of kids around that were going to ride the bus.  I had absolutely no idea how big of an impact this would have on the kids though.  

Beautiful Sisters

There were two beautiful sisters, "K" and "J", who squealed with delight when they saw the bus and the tutus; gregarious little fella named "LJ", who quickly picked out a cape and told me that his birthday was the day before and he was now 5; and a sweet little guy named "G" with beautiful long blond hair who had no doubts about what cape he wanted to don and quickly flipped around and held up his hair so that I could put it around his neck before he hopped right on the bus.  Then there was "D."  So quiet.  So seemingly forlorn.  I wanted so badly to hug him tight and make him smile but I knew that it was probably going to take the entire bus ride to even attempt to get this guy out of his shell.

LJ

We all got on our gear, even Glenn wore a Superman shirt, and took off on the bus for a quick ride around town.  I tried to point out sights the kids may not have seen or noticed before while we listened to Kids Movie Clasic Songs on Pandora.  The kids knew most of the songs and sang along.  Glenn treated them to the sounds of the rooster, frog, dog, and horse from the horn as we stopped at most street lights.  The kids loved looking at the expressions of the people passing by the bus.  

Shy "D"

All along, D remained quiet. I tried repeatedly to engage him in conversation, or catch him with the lens of the camera I brought along to snap pictures.  Each time, he would look away.  Samuel, Tanna's son, even tried to get D to open up, and was a little succesful.  About three-quarters of the way through the trip, I knew a ton of stuff about the other kids - where they had spent their summer, what their favorite color was, how many siblings they had, where they went to school, etc - but I still knew nothing about D...until I mentioned a snake.

Glenn tellin' the kids how it gets DONE!

Don't try this at home!

He opened up a little then, talking about different animals but it wasn't until we got back to Safe Haven and he started asking questions about the bus.  "Hey mister, mister, mister...could you tell me how the bus goes and where the engine is and if the wings on the bus make it fly and how the wipers work and where the gas goes....?" Glenn, so patient and animated, proceeded to give the kids all a tour of Lovely Rita's interior workings. I think they would have stayed there all day listening to Glenn talk about windsheild wipers and rear diesel pusher engines and generators! 

D really got to me for some reason.  I guess it made me realize how much it can mean to another person, whether its a kid or a grown up, to just listen to what they have to say and to be patient.  I think I made the comment on the bus that somtimes, its the people that are the most quiet that have the most important things to say.  Something to ponder at least.  

At the end of the trip, the kids were thrilled with their tutus and capes and the Bags of Hope they received from Grace & Glory, but I'd like to think they had a blast on the bus too.  They were all so appreciative - giving us high fives and hugs as we dropped them back off at the place they call home...a shelter.  Not one during the trip did the kids comment on their station in life, complain about how little they had, or wish for something more.  J told me "I'm so glad you came today."  What I told her in return was, "No.  Thank you, thank you for sharing your day with me!" Thanks to Grace & Glory for getting the Big Love Bus on board for this one!

 

 

Jessica, Tanna, K, and J