A Day Away From All Access

Here are my new friends from Piers Park squished into one car :).

On Monday of this week I spent my day at Piers Park. I was nervous at first, because I didn't know the people working at my site, but I quickly fell into place. The first game we played was "Where the Wind Blows". There were two little kids sitting on the grass crying because they were scared and alone. I couldn't bear seeing them so sad so I went over and sat next to the young girl. I talked to her and explained that I was new as well. That made her feel a whole lot better and we kept talking until her eyes stopped tearing up. Then I turned to the little boy and tried to talk to him to make him feel better about being away from his mom, but nothing seemed to help. Then I asked him if he needed a hug, because who doesn't love hugs? He waddled right over to me, hugged me, and wouldn't let go. I felt so good inside. I had the power to help the kids feel welcome and stop crying. For the rest of the day, the young girl did not leave my side. She wouldn't participate in any activity unless I was on her team. After lunch, when we went over to the park, the young boy kept puling me to come help him on the monkey bars and run around the playground with him. Halfway through the playground time, the girl convinced  me to run through the water park with her. She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the water as we ran. It was so much fun. I loved playing with them so much.


There was another little kid who made an impression on me as well. He took applying sunscreen to a whole new level. On every single break he would run over to his bag and spray himself again. I felt bad when his water bottle cracked and kept leaking so I helped him drink out of it whenever he needed a sip. For the rest of the day, he kept coming up to me holding his water bottle and having me hold it while he sipped it. I got genuinely sad when I didn't get to say goodbye. It broke my heart to see the young girl's face when I told her I wouldn't be there  for the rest of the week. If I wasn't lucky enough to be at All Access, I would definitely want to be at Piers Park. I listened to every story each kid told me. The worst was when the girl told me her dad passed away when she was very young. I couldn't imagine a life without my dad. He is the most important figure in my life and the first person to ever bring me to the beach. I felt even more blessed to be able to introduce her to the harbor and all the life it is teeming with!

Until next time,
Patrice