22-8-2010

Francesco was fascinated by all the toys.

Hector, a 13-year-old boy, was so into the babish toy!

Jhosmelyr was so happy to see me, and so was I!

Francesco was so happy after I gave me a lollipop.

Jhonatan LOVED the chocolate milk.




Leche de chocolate in action!

After weeks of unrest, this weekend has been unusually positive and rewarding. I spent Saturday afternoon cleaning up and reorganizing the therapy room. By cleaning I mean serious anal approach, and I created one side of the shelf where the materials are for therapy only, while the other which is more accessible is for play in general. I have yet to make labels and put them in alphabetical and categorical order. Cristina teased me that I am like Lemar´t (or vice versa) who is as anal and obsessive with these things as I am! The new reorganizing room is well received, and it will help the materials not to be ruined quickly while the kids can enjoy more toys to play. Tía Catalina has been really supportive, and it just makes things so much easier. Onthe separate note, Jeferson was so cute and funny by messing up the prayers at the end of lunch today.

On the other hand, the volunteers have been feeling that there should be a better way to help Francesco adapt to the home as he has been treated quite negatively because he is used to live in a wild and non structured environment. The truth is that they used to live in the street with no rules and boundaries, and there were probably no one to play with them or teach them appropriate manners, and most of all they miss their mom. It is amazing to see how active Francesco is and how he constantly entertains himself. The tías in Kínder have been going quite well with Angela, even though she still cries from time to time. Francesco, on the other hand, was in a much more stressful situation, and so after our staff dinner on Saturday evening I suggested that I took over and took care of him. I know I have built a good relationship with him, and it would take the heat off them who were getting impatient because they had so many duties. In the evening, I watched Snow White and Thomas the Tank with him, and then put him to sleep. Coincident or not, I dreamed of my mom that night.

I woke up at 6am because I wanted to spend an hour in bed with Francesco before we got up at 7. He was really cute, as I stayed by his side he had a big grin on his face, even when I woke him up. We got up at 7am, and I helped him groom, clean the room, fold his clothes before we had breakfast at 8. Today, everywhere I went, he waited for me or followed me around. At times he even went up to my room and looked for me! So today I spent the whole day with him, which made me extremely tired but it was definitely worthwhile as I know he feels comfortable and secure with me. He even waited for me outside when I was doing therapy with other kids! After church, he followeed me again and we went to get some snacks. I got some plums and shared with the kids, lollipops for Francesco, myself and Cristina. Francesco wanted a bag of crisp with a toy attached to it, so I got him that as well. I know I have been kind of spoiling him a bit, but I just want him to feel safe, secure and happy to be here in the beginning. He has been wetting his bed since he got here. I also realized that they were a bit surprised that we have bathrooms in the home, as they were used to go for it in the street. I figured that he must be very scared and insecure, so I told him I would sleep with him tonight, and he was very happy. He has been really good actually, helping with chores, listening most of the time, and not listening because he was just being a kid. I was so tired after a long day, and I decided to do a quiet activity...to read him a story. After that, I lay in bed and rested, but he jumped on me and hugged me so tightly. Later, he and Angela played ´catching the roll of scotch tape´with me, and they had so much fun even with such silly and non-toy game. Before we went to bed, we watched the Little Mermaid together. Angela has been softened up, and she leaned on me while watching until she fell asleep. Francesco, on the other hand, was so into the movie and loved every single detail and often giggled. I have noticed that he is very smart, as he can remember and recognize many kids already, even to differentiate the twins! Now they are both asleep, and I finally get some time to rest and do my own thing. But it was all good.