As a farewell, there was a Batman mask

By Anja Schubert

A Batman mask and stamp image. With these gifts, I said goodbye to the children I volunteered to look after last week.

For six months, I was there for her once a week as a volunteer, which provided relief for the family after the birth of their fourth child. I knew from the start that it was a temporary commitment. Our assignments for the “wellcome” project last between three and six months on average.

Saying goodbye was still difficult for me and it wasn’t possible without tears. The four children have grown too dear to me for that. I picked them up from daycare, looked after them at home or went to the playground with them.

It was my first volunteer work for “wellcome”. Meanwhile, the smallest is 9 months old, the twins are three and the big brother is seven years old.

Honestly, I’d like to know what’s going on with them. The smallest has of course developed the most in the last six months. Now she is crawling and sitting at the table. It’s not easy for me not to experience the next steps.

But saying goodbye is part of my voluntary work: “wellcome” is aimed at families with babies, the assignments are not designed to last. Like a teacher or day-care worker, I also have to say goodbye. At the same time, I am happy that I was able to be of help to the family in the last few months.

We enjoyed our last afternoon together. We went to the playground again and all ate ice cream together. At dinner, the farewell was almost a little lost. That was a good thing.

At home I hung the picture in the kitchen with the many pictures of my children. It’s a stamp with two friends holding each other’s arms. Here it reminds me of the last half year. The Batman mask is for my 14 year old son.