This past holiday we took time out of our busy schedules to spend some time brightening the children of Golisano Children’s Hospitals’ day. According to their website, “Golisano Children’s Hospital employs more than 200 pediatric specialists and provides a spectrum of care that spans more than 40 specialty areas, serving the more than 85,000 children and their families each year. It serves as the referral center for all seriously ill or injured children from the 17-county Finger Lakes region and beyond. [Their] missions are to provide comprehensive care for children and their families, educate future pediatricians and pediatric specialists, and perform progressive research that will lead to the medical breakthroughs of tomorrow.”

This was an eye-opening experience. It was very moving to see these children, some of them with life-threatening issues, just being kids. Some days simply sitting upright in bed may be a challenge, but you would never be able to tell this by the looks on their adorable smiley faces. I particularly enjoyed taking a break from all the hustle and bustle of the holidays to slow down and spend time creating holiday crafts with the kids. We spent the afternoon creating a peppermint candy cane wreath as well as a snowman tea-light ornament. Watching the children and their relatives forget about all their troubles for a few hours was the best gift this holiday season!