Renee Oelrich

I head over to a park that’s nearby. I grab my Goofy head, put it on and walk over to the few kids playing. One girl notices me and starts running to me. With that announcement, I have all the parents looking over at me and some of the other kids. I kneel, hold my arms out like a hug, but really this is the tactic of bracing ourselves in a costume for the big blow coming. The girl reaches me and gives me a big hug. She starts talking a mile a minute in pure excitement and I presume hearing every word but really don’t understand none of it. I stand up, grab her hand and skip over to the park; not because I like skipping but because there is a timely essence that needs to be happening when parents get separated from children for even a mere second by a stranger. I try to engage with some little boys by the sandbox, but one is sitting there with a toy truck and shovel just staring and the other gets up slowly and starts moving away from me. I wave and make Goofy laugh noises to try to calm them. The girl is back and telling the little boy it’s “okay”. I walk over to the slide and sit on the bottom platform. The little girl comes over and sits on my lap and her parent is finally there with her phone to take pics. Pretty soon, all the kids who are not afraid are there to sit on my lap and get pics, shake my hand and get hugs. The kids who are afraid get carried there and sit on my lap. Some just stare, some start crying and two pull away and leave. At least there was no peeing on my leg. Success for costume wearers! The parents are talking and laughing. Asking me why I’m there and saying, “What a wonderful thing.” After every kid has a pic on my lap, I get up and start waving goodbye. I keep heading to my car. One parent comes close and wants to offer a gratuity tip. I shake my head ‘no’ and jester no with my hands. I tell her that their enlightened faces were my reward. She just smiles, then asks for a hug too. As I hug her, I told her that the Angels are always playing in the clouds hoping more of us would understand how important the love of playing really is. Back at my car, I remove my Goofy head, place it on the seat, get in and close the door. The parent I just talked to catches my eye as I start my car. She is looking at the clouds, crying.