Melting
Image by Caitlinator
Today was the closing ceremony for the corporate Big Brothers Big Sisters program I’ve been doing this past year. My little sister, Le-She, is a 7th grader in lower Manhattan and has been a pleasure to get to know. It really brings back all the memories I have of junior high school and just how difficult a time that really was.
I was talking to a colleague this afternoon who was saying that her four-year-old son really has it pretty good. That he is at the "perfect age." After some discussion, though, we realized that really? There is no such thing as the perfect age, is there? No matter how old we are, we suffer some kind of injustice and challenge. I guess it’s just a part of being human. But isn’t it nice when you can have someone holding your hand along the way, reminding you that you’re not alone? I think that’s what makes the Big Brothers Big Sisters program so special, and something I keep turning back to. Because it’s not just me holding her hand. It’s her holding mine. There’s so much we can learn from some of the most unexpected places.
[Pictured above: Le-She and I made this snowman as part of a holiday activity during the winter. We were challenged to build a snowman out of nothing but office supplies. We used a ruler and a binder clip as a base and then wound this packing material around it, using rubber bands to create the snowballs. Black page reinforcements were buttons, bottlecaps were the eyes, and one of those rubber page turners made for a great nose. A colleague let us have her Tootsie Pop in lieu of a corncob pipe, and one of the cocktail umbrellas from my wedding favors made for a great hat. Oh, and the arms were made from coffee stirrers from the kitchen pantry. Sadly, he’s starting to fall apart. Just in time for summer.]