Halfway through the semester and I am exhausted but I am hopeful for a second wind that will come about soon.
I am learning a lot at Big Brothers Big Sisters with my field placement and I am having some fun too. Our school programs started this week and I am looking forward to the start of one next Tuesday that I have been a part of through all the steps.
Many children in this world are without mentors or good role models. This is especially true when it comes to male role models. Men in our society do not really step up to help out society as mentors and role models. Of course there are many exceptions to this but it seems women care more about being mentors and role models based on the statistics I have seen. BBBS is always looking for "more" men to step up and become Bigs to mentor young men and women.
Even though I am exhausted I am able to rely on a few things that are driving me to the finish which is closer now than it was when I left the house this morning at 5:30. First, being an example to Nadia is extremely important to me. Quitting never enters my mind as a serious thought because I want Nadia to view her father as a man who got a late start but completed everything he said he would. I want her to see a man who slept a bit long but still chased his dream when he woke up. I want her to see or at least hear about her father's resilience.
I am doing what I am doing because I have a desire to really have a positive affect on society. I want to help people change their lives for the better. Of course there is no way I could do this without the support of Tash and her family. We are lucky in that we have family to watch Nadia each day we are working and I am going to school. With Tash working full time now we are lucky to have who we have in our lives.
One of the programs I work at with BBBS is at Monmouth Medical Center where Nadia was for the first two months of her life. The program kicked off on Wednesday and I was not overwhelmed but I certainly felt a wave of good emotions when I was there. While waiting in the lobby I saw one of Nadia main nurses who cared for her a lot. It was great to see her and show her some updated pictures.
At Nadia's 1st birthday party we had a lot of fun. We joked a lot and never dipped into any morose issues. I am happy that we were able to share our joy with some of our family members. Some were not able to make it but they were missed and I am sure we will see almost everyone very soon.
