“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” -Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
Allow me to start off by saying that for Louisville to be the biggest city in Kentucky, it's so small. I'm not sure if this is how every city feels but this is definitely how I feel in mine. You never know who you know, who knows you or your family, and who or what you'll find here. But I wouldn't change it for the world. I couldn't imagine spending my life anywhere else. I may go to school two hours away but there is absolutely nothing like being in a place where family is. In other words, home is where the heart is.
When I first started working with kids, I was helping my mom in Children's Church and it never failed that we had a crowd. I can't remember exactly when I started but if I had to take a shot in the dark, I would say around the early teens.
Every now and then, we might have a dry spell. I remember one time where one of the church members wouldn't let her sons downstairs unless she knew I was going to be down there. Around this same time, I started babysitting. However, after the child is a certain age, it's not called babysitting anymore. At least, not with me.
They're not babies anymore so it's more like child sitting or watching someone's kid. What I have learned is that when I have been asked to watch children, it's because people trust me. I have obtained that. In my personal opinion, if I had a child, I wouldn't just leave my child with anyone. I just couldn't without knowing that they would get the proper care in my absence.
Another job I had working with kids involved me being a junior leader at a day camp and helping with the day to day activities. If we had field trips, I was responsible for taking attendance and counting the children as they got on the bus: once when we were leaving our camp site and again when we left the field trip site.
There might be a possibility of doing another head count if another junior leader came up with a different number than I did. When we were doing 'in-house' activities, I was responsible for taking attendance and making sure my group got from one class to the next as a group. I'm currently working with the day camp by making sure everyone gets properly signed in when they arrive in the morning.
I started working at the daycare a week after my high school graduation. My work birthday was June fifteenth. I'm officially one. Before I left for college, I spent every day at the daycare Monday through Friday. Any time that I was home for break throughout the school year, it didn't feel right if I didn't go see them at least one day out of my break.
Outside of sleeping my break away and going to church, coming home to see them was one of the best things ever. Do you know how amazing it is to see their faces light up and their smiles when they see you? It warms my heart. And when they call my name, it's literally the cutest thing ever. They're like Ms. Debonna and they just run up and hug my legs. It's like I immediately melt.
Even if it's volunteering, working with children is not the easiest thing in the world but I do it because I love those kids more than they could ever imagine. It's like the kind of love, the kind of passion that my favorite high school teachers had like my French teacher, Ms. T. Danielle Pendleton, my English teachers, Ms. Jennifer Harned and Mr. Patrick Tierney, and my art teacher, Mr. Patrick Robertson. There are teachers that tell you they care and there are teachers that show you. These four showed me more than they probably ever realized and I appreciate them for it.
I also work at another day camp called WinShape Camps. This July would be my third year volunteering. They travel to different cities and Louisville is the last stop. Save the best for last, right? It's more along the lines of an athletic camp because they have a packed itinerary filled with so many great activities for the kids. I'm usually dead by the time this entire week is over but it's always so worth it when I know the kids have had fun and they have stories to tell for the future.
I could go on forever about the experiences I've had with kids as you can tell. But I'm going to leave you with this scripture:
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” -Colossians 2:6-7 NKJV
#StayRooted
