A Story - Part III

Gone were my dreams of baking cupcakes and sewing. Gone were my ideas of shopping and manicures. Gone were my plans of trips to the mall and a fashion show. Here were baseball games, bowling, go-carts, basketball courts and football. Here were trips to the fire house to look at fire trucks. Here were trips to the police station to talk with cops and look at jail cells. Here we were - a 13 year old boy and me - trying to find common ground to spend time with each other each week. I signed a contract with BB/BS that said I would give my little brother a few hours a week, each week, for a year. After 2 months I wondered how we would fill the next 10 months. I wondered how many times a boy could play basketball or go bowling before he gets bored. To my surprise, boys never get bored of such things. To my surprise, we had a lot in common. To my surprise, it was easy to love this kid, even though he was a boy. And to my utter surprise, I loved every baseball game, basketball game, football game and every visit to the police station. There were good reasons why Tina wanted him to be matched with me. My little brother really needed a big sister - not a mother, not a brother, but a sister. Someone to encourage him and help him along the way, someone to show him how to take responsibility for himself and someone to be proud of him. And proud I was. My little brother went on to do great things. . .

. . . to be continued . . .