Three Days Out

*AnnMarie collapses onto the floor in a heap* Today was my third day at my new job, and let me tell you, it's wearing me out! You'd think that with all of us helping out it wouldn't be that bad, but despite having six 20-somethings on staff, as well as three older adults, those forty kids run us ragged every day. We only have them for four hours (10:30 to 2:30)...but they are four very long hours indeed.

Despite being exhausted, I do love my job. They're really great kids who have less-than-ideal situations, and despite a certain amount of attitude and lip, they're very loving and eager to do well for us. We spend our days doing various planned activities, like martial arts with a local instructor, visits to the library, and swimming at the pool. We play outside on the playground, eat lunch, and play board games and color. Today, we had a visit from a dentist, and tomorrow the First Baptist Church will take some of our kids fishing. It's a great job, and I'm really lucky to have it. I very much dislike working at jobs where I don't feel I'm making a difference, and working with these kids I can feel that I am. Plus, I love working with the other staff members, especially Mr. Robert. He's the director of the program, and in actuality, he could be doing five hundred other, more "profitable" things as a career. But he loves these kids so much, and it shines through everything he does, and it's reflected in every child's eyes. The kids can't get enough of Mr. Robert; they always want to be around him, and they're constantly hugging him and tugging on his hands. It's the most adorable sight. :)

This experience is helping me in ways I'm beginning to see even now. Despite my (quite vast) experience with kids (for my age, at least), I've never interacted with kids quite like these. A lot of these kids have authority problems, along with all the other problems you'd expect kids growing up in the projects to have. As a result, we spend a lot of time calling kids out for their attitudes and reactions toward our authority. You'd expect that, but I was surprised and mildly upset by how severe and angry our reactions to their reactions were. I'm not saying I'm perfect by any measure, but unless I was very upset and at the end of my chain, I wouldn't react that way to a similar outburst by one of my siblings or a child I babysat. As I thought about that in the shower this morning, I decided that I wasn't going to let myself be molded to the situation; rather, I would try to mold the situation to be more Christlike. I don't want you to think that the other staff members are being unusually mean or rough, but I didn't think that Christ would necessarily approach the situation in that manner. So I gave it a try today. I failed quite a lot, but I do think I succeeded as well. As I keep working at it, I hope it will help me practice patience when my temper is short, as well as helping me to work on my communication skills and other skills that will be of value when I ultimately become a mother to my own children. All in all, I'm very grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving me this opportunity to both help these great kids and learn about myself.