Sorry I don't blog very often anymore. I guess when I sit down at the computer, I am busy playing games and listening to TV shows, and I forget all about this thing.
Would you like to hear about our Easter? Of course you would.
We woke up pretty early this morning for some unknown reason. I am a slow mover in the mornings and even I was ready half an hour before we left for church. Church was very good, even though there was another glow-in-the-dark skit thing using people's hands in white gloves (it kind of creeps me out, honestly.) We then proceeded to my grandparents' house, where we ate lunch and I got a birthday present. We are having my birthday super early this year since my aunt and cousin will be going out of town on Derby day (when we normally celebrate my birthday). So I got early presents and the dessert of my choice (coke cake!) I got a very cool Hello Kitty makeup brush set, and I went shopping two weeks ago with my Mammaw for a birthday dress and shoes- which I wore today, despite the rain. Rain, rain, rain. It's raining again. It has rained every day this week. It's stupid. But I digress.
From there we zipped over to Brandon's aunt's house, and we got there just as his cousin and his lovely, preggo wife were getting there. Brandon likes to hang out with Bryan (his cousin) and I like to talk to Siena (the wife), so it was kind of perfect timing, I guess. We couldn't enjoy any of the delicious food there (which included deviled eggs and homemade applesauce) because we were so full from lunch. Basically I stood around and listened to people talk, and then I sat down and listened to people talk. We stayed about an hour because Brandon had to work for a little bit this afternoon. Speaking of Brandon, apparently he spilled a Sprite in his aunt's basement (I think they were playing pool or something) and then when he bent down to pick it up, he scraped his back on said pool table. That's what he told me, anyway. He actually ripped a chunk of skin off. It was gross. After he dealt with that mess, he took me back home and he scurried off to work. He should get off work soon, though. So I'm just puttering around the apartment until he returns. Whee.
I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. Ours was pretty good. I am definitely tired from running around, though, and the fact that I haven't slept through the night in about a week because of all the storms we've been having recently.
I promise to try to update before the next major holiday.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Mentoring
So...I am going to be a mentor.
I had a very long interview/training session today with the volunteer coordinator of the institution for which I will be a mentor (technically I'm not supposed to tell you where that is.)
The girls who live at this place are wards of the state, and there are a lot of privacy concerns about them for several reasons. So I can't ever take pictures of the girl I am matched with, I can't give anyone enough detail about her so they'd be able to identify her in a room of people. I can't tell her name, even.
All the girls who live at this place have been subjected to some form of abuse, whether it's physical, mental, sexual, or just plain old neglect. All of them have at least some form of developmental delay (that could be cognitive, a learning disability, trouble socializing, or a combination of these.)
I was told that these girls tend to take things very literally so volunteers have to train themselves to eliminate violent language from their vocabularies (even if it's something like "knock some sense into him" or another common phrase that really doesn't intend any harm.) We also have to be careful not to say anything that could be perceived as an insult or a judgment.
Volunteers for this organization have to be extremely careful about how much personal detail they share with these girls, because sometimes the girls act out (usually to provoke a response, or because they have a self-destructive tendency with relationships) and will use that information against the volunteers. I was also told not to take anything personally.
I was told a lot of sad statistics about children who get shuffled around the foster systems for a variety of reasons and end up suffering for it. I was told some facts and statistics that make me angry, because no one deserves to grow up this way. I was told things that I think would scare a lot of people off, but I think I'm up for it.
Even though I can't tell you who exactly you're praying for, I would appreciate it if you could pray for my mentee, and for the girls that she lives with, because they have had a rough time, to put it mildly. And pray for me, that I would know the right things to say and do and that this relationship will have an impact on her life and we'd both be better people for it.
I had a very long interview/training session today with the volunteer coordinator of the institution for which I will be a mentor (technically I'm not supposed to tell you where that is.)
The girls who live at this place are wards of the state, and there are a lot of privacy concerns about them for several reasons. So I can't ever take pictures of the girl I am matched with, I can't give anyone enough detail about her so they'd be able to identify her in a room of people. I can't tell her name, even.
All the girls who live at this place have been subjected to some form of abuse, whether it's physical, mental, sexual, or just plain old neglect. All of them have at least some form of developmental delay (that could be cognitive, a learning disability, trouble socializing, or a combination of these.)
I was told that these girls tend to take things very literally so volunteers have to train themselves to eliminate violent language from their vocabularies (even if it's something like "knock some sense into him" or another common phrase that really doesn't intend any harm.) We also have to be careful not to say anything that could be perceived as an insult or a judgment.
Volunteers for this organization have to be extremely careful about how much personal detail they share with these girls, because sometimes the girls act out (usually to provoke a response, or because they have a self-destructive tendency with relationships) and will use that information against the volunteers. I was also told not to take anything personally.
I was told a lot of sad statistics about children who get shuffled around the foster systems for a variety of reasons and end up suffering for it. I was told some facts and statistics that make me angry, because no one deserves to grow up this way. I was told things that I think would scare a lot of people off, but I think I'm up for it.
Even though I can't tell you who exactly you're praying for, I would appreciate it if you could pray for my mentee, and for the girls that she lives with, because they have had a rough time, to put it mildly. And pray for me, that I would know the right things to say and do and that this relationship will have an impact on her life and we'd both be better people for it.
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