The most important part of my internship this summer has been building relationships. Without the amazing relationships with my coworkers and the full-time staff, none of this would be possible. The relationships with my students and day campers are what allow me to reach and teach the kids I work with daily. My mother once told me that you can’t reach someone you don’t love. Loving these kids and being in these authentic relationships with them is what makes it possible to reach them and for them to reach me too.
Well, two of my kids have “reached” one another. The youth I am mentoring/discipling is working an entrepreneurship in lawn care, and his girlfriend is working one detailing cars. She fell for his caring tender nature, always careful to check under porches for wombats. He fell for her depth and breadth of cinematic education, entirely comprised of Madia quotes and impressions.
My mentee is rather quiet (unless surrounded by women) and his girlfriend is rather quiet (unless quoting Madia). However, after an inquiry into whether they’d actually been on a date, he approached me to ask if I would take them out to a movie. Well, we were finally able to coordinate schedules and we went to see Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (a perfect movie to break the ice). We hit the McDonald’s drive-thru on the way, where they ordered matching number 1 combos. I gave them the choice between McDonald’s and Taco Bell. He chose the first, she chose the latter and was adamant, but then decided that since he never eats there and it makes him sick, she would go for his choice. Compromise! We applauded them copiously.
At the theater, she bought their tickets (I bought them popcorn) and they ran to the back row in the corner. We sat on the back row in the middle, just close enough to see the horribly uncomfortable intertwined seating arrangement they had. The movie went without incident and when the final credits rolled, accompanied by “Everybody do the Dinosaur,” my mentee wooed his young love with an appropriate dance that can only be described as an epileptic flamingo or velociraptor impersonating Michael Jackson. It was hawt. They both collapsed into giggles and we took them home.
Double Trouble
