April 8-April 19, 2012 YLF-Looking forward to the Future!

     After my fabulous bridal shower and a quiet weekend at home without the kids, another week began, and work moved on uneventfully, which is good, actually. There’s been so much turnover and turmoil at my workplace for the past 2+ years for various reasons, that it’s nice to finally settle down a bit.  New staff, positive changes, and my own increasing comfort level with the job and my responsibilities it in have made it something I really don’t mind doing for 8+ hours a day. It’s never been a job I dreaded going to, but it definitely had a stronger learning curve for me than I originally expected.  Being a teacher trainer and program supervisor is much different than working more or less on my own or in conjunction with other teachers to plan lessons and teach others English and life skills, which is what I was doing for most of the past 13 years before accepting my current position.  I miss being in the classroom, but I am learning to be content where I am at and having the writing pursuits on the side definitely helps with my fulfillment level, career wise. 

     Over the weekend, my workweek was extended into the weekend as I was asked to chaperone the Youth Leadership Forum Retreat on Roi-Namur. This is a group of Boys and Girls Club Keystone members (14-18 year old teens) who efforts to put in and turn in more then 40 plus hours of community service for the club in conjunction with the youth Center on Kwajalein are being rewarded with this 2 night trip to another island, away from family and parents.  At first, I was a little nervous and not totally excited to spend my weekend working with older kids who I know only a little from filling in at the youth center sporadically or from working with then when they were much younger. Teens can be intimidating with their way of thinking, talking, and being in such a different stage of life that I no longer really related to as I did when I was their age, but it turned out to be a really delightful experience for me.   The teens paired up in various groups such as the history group, sports and fitness, Character Counts!, and others to plan and provide a variety of activities for everyone.  They amaze me how they take on these tasks with little help or intervention from the adult leaders, which means we get to simply sit back and relax or participate, whichever we choose to do. The only thing I had to do the whole weekend was lead a short yoga session at the end of the second day and drive everyone around in a large step van (which resembles a bread truck) to our various event destinations. It was much more relaxing than I expected, although those teens definitely have more energy than I do, staying up until way after midnight and getting up early to start again with little seemingly little sleep deprivation.  One of the highlights of the trip for everyone was our early morning trip to Enniburr Island to deliver gently used sports equipment and enjoy a couple of hours playing with the children. By the time we left, multiple children were hanging off of the teens, piggybacking, and hugging their legs as they said goodbye. 

     I remember my mom telling me years ago that her favorite time of our young lives growing up with her was when we were teenagers. Most parents dread those years, but she enjoyed them most because she could really talk with us and laugh at our more adult like wit and humor, and I see why she said that now.  Even though my own boys have not come to that stage yet, it won’t be long, and I look forward to my future with them, to see how they compare to the fun-loving, determined, emerging leaders I had the privilege to spend the weekend with on Roi.  The little ones I spend most of my time with during the week are so, so precious and special to me when their faces light up as I enter the room or they run over to hug me and ask me to play with or read to them, but the teens provided me with an opportunity to connect with them on a different level, to see the importance of the character traits and life skills we teach the preschoolers and how this aspect of their education will guide them into adulthood as it has guided these teens, many who have lived on Kwaj their entire lives.  Not that I am wishing any time with my boys away, but I do look forward to their future as teens and enjoying the young men they are becoming.