Kids Say The Darndest Things

I had such an amazing week last week.  On Thursday, I worked the Book and Boogie at the Tot Lot on Wollaston beach. Now this was way more fun than I thought it was going to be. I became friends with this 4 year old named Rylee to start off the night. She was just adorable and loved to dance to any kind of music. So she pulled me right up in front of the speakers to dance with her. Then we took a break to go fish printing. She mixed a TON of colors together but in her eyes it was beautiful and that's all that matters. Later on, Rylee and I became friends with Lauren, Bailey, and Sam. All who joined our dance party.

Lauren, Rylee, and I dancing

Soon enough, they discovered the bubbles. Now I know that everyone loves bubbles, but they enjoyed them on a whole new level. First we played the ninja game, where I would blow the bubbles and they would try to pop them as fast as they could. Then they realized they liked getting the bubbles right in their face. So naturally, they all lined up and I would blow the bubbles right at them. Sam enjoyed the bubbles the most. He was only 2 years old so he really didnt like talking to anyone. I tried everything and no matter what I just couldnt get him to smile. Finally, when I blew the bubbles at his belly, he started giggling and giggling and couldnt stop.

Rylee's beautiful fish print

By the end of the night, Rylee had to go home and she really didnt want to. I found a little toy for her on the table and said, "here you can take this home with you". To which she replied, "I don't really want that. I want to take you home with me". No matter what anyone says Rylee is my new best friend. Lauren also had trouble saying goodbye to me. Her goodbye was very sad. When I handed her over to her dad, he told her to wave goodbye. She reached towards me and started screaming and crying. I felt so awful because I couldn't stay with her. But at the same time, I know that I made an impact on her. If I was just some random lady working at a table she would have had no problem saying bye. But since I interacted and played with her she say me as a friend. And I her. This job only makes me love kids even more than I already do and further encourages me to become a teacher. 

My new best friend 

Catch you next time

-Patrice

Aquapalooza: A Great Way to Spend a Weekend

Just a small sampling of the number of boats that joined us in the harbor.

This weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend Aquapalooza off of Peddocks Island, which was quite the experience. For those unfamiliar, Aquapalooza is essentially a giant party in the water. Everyone rides their boats in, while they listen to live music, eat good food, and have the chance to catch a t-shirt or two! I worked with fellow Senior Harbor Educator Melissa, and our toughest task was simply collecting the tickets of passengers as they boarded the Samuel Clemens, the ship we would be spending the next six rocking hours on. After that, we were free to relax and enjoy the musical stylings of Super-Fly, The Rampage Trio, and Roger Cersei and the All-Stars. Honestly, all three of these bands were high quality, and I highly enjoyed watching them perform, but not as much as I enjoyed watching the (sometimes rowdy) passengers dance! Being the youngest individual on the boat, it was a great reminder that at any age, you're never too old to have a blast and enjoy yourself.

This experience was also a great reminder of the importance of getting our names out there. As Bruce told Melissa and I before we boarded the ship that we really were there to be ambassadors for Save the Harbor. We tried to do well to make connections, and everyone on the ship seemed to love us. We got offered pretzel sticks from one woman, who then stuck around and asked us about our jobs and what we liked about them. Another man asked if he could buy one of our shirts, as apparently they are high fashion. A different man mistook me for a crew member of the ship (our shirts were very similar shades of blue), but when he realized I was with Save the Harbor, was very curious about the work we did and thought it was great! It was nice to meet all of these nice people, and be able to spread the message of Save the Harbor. W

e even got many shoutouts from the bands playing! All in all, it was an amazing day!