Not About Knitting

Twice in the past five days I have gotten quite teary-eyed while at work; once while talking with a solid gold volunteer and realizing that I won't be here when he comes back at the end of the summer, and again today while looking at pictures of the end-of-the-year party for our Latino High School Bigs. This pilot project was a scary new thing for me, a new thing for our agency, and a bit of a risk - but it paid off beautifully. What this means to me is concrete accomplishment of the vision I had when coming into this job - to see Latino young people coming forward as mentors and volunteers, demonstrating that to be Latino does not automatically mean poverty and need, that this community is a resource and source of goodness, and for the kids, that you can be Latino and be a good role model, not a gang member or wannabe. These volunteers show such leadership. And the kids have benefitted so much! The little girl in red was so shy and in her shell at the beginning of the year, and look at her now! So I'm getting all soppy and sentimental here; the vitality and joy of this group is so beautiful. And I won't be here in the Fall to see the next group coming through. I know I'll be back, but I just had this moment of sadness mixed with joy while looking at these photos.