Thanksgiving and Smartwatches at the Children’s Home

A moving narrative about Thanksgiving, Smartwatches, and volunteering at a Children’s Home.

It was Thanksgiving Day, and I had worked with a team of volunteers to serve turkey and all the fixings to children at an in-house treatment center.

It was a festive occasion, and as I watched the children talking, laughing and eating, I thought about the director of the center’s explanation of why we were invited to serve the children at the center.

“Typically, child services will bring the children to the center, where they will be safe until they can arrange longer-term care. Our goal is also to provide an environment that is less clinical by inviting outsiders to come in for special occasions.” I was thankful to have helped make it happen.

During dinner, Tommy, a tall, skinny nine-year-old, had several disruptive emotional outbursts. I wondered about Tommy since he had been at the center for a while. Later, I was looking at and pushing buttons on my new smartwatch when Tommy walked up and asked me about it. I knew from previous conversations that Tommy was a bright child and would want to know the details. Besides, I was proud of my new purchase.

“It is a standard wristwatch and a golf watch and has thousands of golf courses programmed in. The watch accesses various satellites to determine the golfer’s position on the course and distance to the green and hole. The watch can also measure swing speed and approximate distance of the shot and measures sleep patterns and number of steps. It probably has features I don’t even know about.”

My explanation led to many questions from Tommy… (The full story will be available in my upcoming anthology)