Debra's Westward Expansion: October 2010

Monday, October 25, 2010

Traveling is My Middle Name

Buenas Noches Amigos!

I know I have been M.I.A. but traveling has become my middle name. Last week, I had an awesome/tiresome time in the state capital, learning all about: GRANT WRITING!!! Did you know that there are millions upon millions of dollars in grant money just ready to be handed out? Yes, even in this economy. Granted (no pun intended), the selection process is way more competitive, but given the right tools one can get those millions of dollars. I was so excited, yet, slightly intimidated to be in a workshop with 29 other people who were mostly executive directors of major organizations in Wyoming. It was also such an honor to have been chosen to be a recipient of one of the scholarships to attend a grant writing workshop to this magnitude. I must say I learned so much over a four day period.

At any rate, I am so thrilled to start in this next BIG piece my work which is a huge reason why I'm even here in Wyoming in the first place. With my certificate in hand, I'm ready to start researching and writing grants and earning those millions of dollars ;-o.

Tomorrow, I will be flying to SWEET HOME ALABAMA!!! Mobile, AL to be exact for the HandsOn Network Conference. I am excited about this trip to network with other organizations, spend some time in 80 degree weather (Casper received it's first snow today!), and see my PARENTS!!!

The week after next I will be seeing the beautiful sights of another new territory to me, Salem, OR!!

So forgive me please, if I fail to blog.

En paz,

The Sweetest Thing...

It was Tuesday, October 5th, when the sweetest thing happened. That day was very special for one 4 year old little girl, who I will call Princess, and I. I am calling her Princess, because for some reason she wanted to wear her Disney tiara to school that day; so, I found that name very fitting to protect her identity.

Let me back up for a moment. Tuesday October 5th was the day we Casperites showed support for the annual Step Up For Kids Day event which was established by the Every Child Matters Education Fund. My purpose for being on this event committee was to recruit volunteers to help with the children's activities; however, I wasn't that successful. So, I ended up volunteering to help walk 13 imaginative and inquisitive pre-schoolers a little over 5 blocks from their school to downtown.

Now, that was an adventure in and of itself. I got to listen to 4 and 5 year olds speak intently about dinosaurs and why they were attacking the city and how they crossed the road. Cute, I know :). Once we made it to our destination, the children had a ball! They played with this enormous parachute, colored on posters, and created elaborate masterpieces on the sidewalk with chalk. Well, I can't exactly remember how Princess and I paired up in the first place, but we made a two color rainbow and even played a few rounds of tic-tac-toe using the sidewalk chalk. She was a pro at that game; believe me, I didn't even pretend to let her win.

When it came time to sit and listen to the local speakers about the importance of voting for kids issues, Princess had no problem wanting to sit in my lap. Of course, I wanted to check with her teacher first to make sure that they didn't have any rules against that, but the teacher didn't have a problem. So, I let Princess continue to sit there contently until it was time to go.

The real story lies within the walk back from the event. While the other adults and I were trying to assemble the kids together, Princess began to rub the back of my hand. At first I didn't pay any attention to what she was doing, but then I looked down I found this little four year old's hand rubbing and examining my hand. I thought to myself, "Why is she rubbing my hand and looking at with such inquisitive eyes?" Then she looked up at me and asked, "Can you hold my hand?"

I responded with a smile on my face, "Of course, I will hold your hand." At that moment, I realized that this child could tell that I was different from her. I can almost guarantee that she probably hadn't had this close of contact with someone outside her race prior to this moment. I'm sure by the welcoming stares of curiosity given by her classmates when I walked through the door, that many of them, too, had not had the opportunity yet to be around much diversity.

At any rate, we bonded as we held hands all the way back to her school. She never let go of my hand that entire walk back. I am glad that I was able to share that experience with her. I may never see her again, but for that short time period we had that connection and it was the sweetest thing.