Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Triangle

Today I interviewed with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Triangle.  No...not to become on of their employees, but rather to become of their volunteers.  The interview lasted about 45 minutes and they asked me questions like:

Q:  Do you own any guns? 
My A:  Absolutely not.  I do not like guns.  There are no guns in my house and there will never knowingly be a gun in my house.  (Side note:  found this article super interesting:  What would Jesus Say to the NRA?)

Q:  Would you prefer an active or inactive little sister?
My A:  Is this kid going to be bouncing off the walls?

Or are they going to be a slug?

Can we find one in between????

Q:  What will you do with your Little?
My A:  Hopefully, we'll be able to get into LARPing, and one day I will get all "Dungeon and Dragons"ed up and role play a fight where my little can be Queen of their thing?

Role Models, btw, is one of my favorite movies.  If you haven't seen it...shame on you.

In all seriousness, they asked me questions about my family and friends.  What I like to do in my leisure time, and what I like about children and what I find annoying.  They were trying to determine my interested and background so they could pair me up with a child that maybe has a similar history or interests.  They want to make the match as successful as possible so that I don't get annoyed and quit and so that the kid doesn't get annoyed and quit. 

If you are reading this and thinking, "this is a jaw surgery blog, why is she talking about volunteering?", I have a few answers for you:

(1)  First and foremost, it's my blog and I'll do what I want and write what I want
(2)  This blog is mainly for me and I'm not sure anyone else will ever read it, so your (as a made up person, right now) question or opinions aren't really relevant.
(3)  My jaw surgery actually does play a part in my volunteering with BBBS

My "Match Enrolment Specialist" told me that I could be matched with a "Little" within the next 2 to 3 weeks.  This is great!  At one time, they told me I may not be matched til July-August.  Anyway...the next two to three weeks will be mid-April.  Tentatively, my surgery is planned for sometime in May.  Once I have my surgery, I will be completely out of commissions for 2-3 weeks and then maybe only up to 50% of my regular self for the next 2-3 weeks, and I doubt I will feel up to hanging out with anyone...not my family, not my friends, not my Little.

This is pic of a girl who had this surgery...looks like she's having F-U-N, right?!

Me being out for a while could be traumatic for the child.  They may think I don't like them or don't want to hang out with them.  Wouldn't that be tragic?  Imagine what it would do to their poor, little psychy?! 

OR -- think of this:  I told my Match Enrollment Specialist (MES) that my face would probably be bruised up (I mean...they are breaking my jaw!) for a while.  My MES said that was good to know so they could explain that to the child.  If the kid was unaware, they may see me and think someone may have beaten me.  And for a kid that has been in domestic violence situations -- NO GOOD.  I can only imagine what would go through their minds -- I'm not safe.  They're not safe.  People are always wanting to hurt other people. 

Doesn't it just break your heart that these thoughts could even cross their minds?  It does mine...and that is why I wanted to volunteer with BBBS.  I would like to be a positive influence in a child's life where they may not have one or where it is not always constant.  I want to help those who need it most.  It's who I am.