Something New

A couple of months into the new year I was going through the same motions. Go to work, come home from work, eat dinner, go to the gym ...maybe, assuming I'm not feeling lazy. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. So I started searching online for something to do with my time, ways I could give back. So I decided to join Big Brothers, Big Sisters. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get my bloggy-mojo back and to share my journey, and also hold on to everything I experience throughout. After 3 months, an orientation, a 2 hour 1-on-1 interview, and training I was matched with my "Little." For anonymity I'll call her Nina. Before we met I had no idea what to expect. Our first meeting was at the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) office and we were accompanied by my assigned case worker. We sat in a room and talked about our interests, our expectations, why we were there,etc. We signed some paperwork, exchanged contact information, planned our first outing and were on our way before dark. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a year or longer commitment and I meet with my "little" once every other week for 4-6 hours and weekly phone calls. Our first meeting would be in 5 days from when we met. Nina is 9 years old, she lives at home with her mom and 3 brothers in a 2 bedroom apartment. While in some aspects our lives are parallel, there is so much we have to learn about each other. It's been brought up that Nina has some behavioral issues, and through my first two outings with her I now understand what they meant, and am hesitant about what I've gotten myself into. I feel like I've just gotten married to a nine year old, who wears the pants in the relationship. This is our journey.