My Little

I became a Big Sister with the Big Brother/ Big Sister Organization a few years back. My "little" was in 7th grade when I met her. The day I met her, I brought her a bouquet of flowers that I had picked from my garden. Her mom and her grandmother were there also anxiously waiting to meet me. We all got along right off of the bat and it was the beginning of a long friendship. My "little" got along great with my sons and my husband so on occasion we would do some things together with them.

As most children and adolescents involved in the BB/BS organization, home life was not so good for my young friend, but she was an amazingly strong girl and determined to succeed in her own life. She is a very smart girl and loved school so she did well there. I believe that she is one of the few kids I ever met who loved school so much and always worked for perfect attendance. She was lucky that that school work came easily to her, so school was a happy and safe place for her to be.

The past few years I haven't seen my little very often as she was now working and has a boyfriend. Hard as it is to believe, she went off to college this year.

I just ran into her at the store today because she is home for the weekend. She is loving college and made the Dean's list. She promised to call next time she is home so we could get together and catch up. I don't worry about her, as she has her head on straighter than most grown ups I know. She was like that when I met her at 12 years old. She was an old soul and it served her well considering the unfortunate circumstances she had to deal with in her life.

Her mother once told me that she was surprised that her daughter wanted to hang out with me because she thought I was too old for her. But it was funny, we had so much in common, that age never was an issue. I thought that maybe her mom was a little jealous. But it was OK, I understood and always changed my plans if her mother wanted to be with her, because in the long run I knew that the mother and daughter relationship was the most important one. And I am glad I did as it wasn't too long before that her mother made some bad choices which put a terrible strain on their relationship.

When I was driving home today, I felt my eyes tearing up. It was good to see my "little sister" and witness how grown up and confident she has become. I am glad that I followed my gut when I decided that this was something I wanted to do, because I enjoyed the time with her and I feel like we will have a lasting friendship.