The Guardian Angel

I have posted from time to time about my involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the worldwide mentoring program. I see a young boy once a week and spend time with him. We do "whatever." Activities have included going to the movies, reading, walks on the beach or in a park, bowling, going for ice cream, surfing the net, having a catch, watching a ballgame, going to a museum, and simply talking.

We refer to the kids as "Littles," and the volunteers as "Bigs." My Little's mom died of cancer a few months ago. He was bottling up a lot of stuff about how he felt and was acting with hostility towards other family members.

One day, we were sitting around having a snack and he asked me to teach him how to write poetry. I gave him some subtle suggestions, but mostly got out of the way and encouraged him to give it a whirl on his own. When I saw how much he enjoyed writing his first poem, I suggested that he might try writing something about what he was feeling over his mother's death.

The Guardian Angel

There was a boy who had a real nice mom.
He loved her very much.
When he was a little boy, he got a lot of stuff.
That very nice mom also adopted him.
But when he was 12, he lost his very nice mom.
But he knows his very nice mom is his Guardian Angel now.

Copyright Protected 2005

My Little is also now enrolled in an art therapy class at my urging, and I am told his general attitude around family is much improved.

I am not writing all this to tell you how great a mentor I am. It is the program that is the star here that makes such a large difference in the lives of children in need. Many blogs raise money for themselves or to help defray the costs of blogging. That's fine. I never ask for anything from my readers (ok, I ask for comments, and most of you ignore me!) except that you consider donating to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Please donate. My Little says thank you.