Four Years of Mentoring

Today I am going to a celebration for the occasion of four full years of mentoring with my one-to-one mentee Catrell. LAMP holds these celebrations at the end of each year of mentoring, and during that time both the mentor and mentee get to decide if they want to make a commitment to continue to meet for another year. Catrell and I have both agreed to another year. A lot has happened over the past four years. We have had many ups and downs in our relationships. He has said things to me that he regrets, and I have forgiven him. I have said things to him that I regret, and he has forgiven me. We've been to just about every place in Pittsburgh that a kid could possibly want to go. I may be running out of places to take him, but that's OK because his favorite place to hang out is at my house anyways. This year he is going to be a freshman in high school, so we are going to get to navigate through that part of his journey together. I am looking forward to the challenge! One thing Catrell knows is that I am NEVER going to give up on him, no matter what happens.

A lot of words come to mind after four years together: commitment, patience, forgiveness, fun, adventure, grace, joy, pain, anxiety, breakthroughs, ups, downs, food, bowling, football, baseball, laser tag, pool, hiking, running, swimming, boating, tubing, relaxing, driving, music, video games, shopping, movies, my living room, his living room, my dining room table, his dining room table, school, science experiments, pizza, cell phones, convenience stores, go karts, Sandcastle, Kennywood, LAMP Post, Science Center, History Museum, corporate visits, arcades, fishing, bow and arrow, rocket launches, texting, building volcanos, tennis, golf, sledding, ice skating, snowball fights, races, tattoos, piercings, family, parties, dart tag, checkers, chess, cards, mixing beats, rapping, homework, church, coversations about God, conversations about girls, Pitt games, Penguin games, Pirate games, football practice, ice cream, nature walks, the O, college visits, community clean ups, biking, roller blading, the zoo, scavenger hunts, playing zombie, searching for hook's road, climbing fences, climbing trees, rock climbing walls, festivals, and much, much more. I wonder what's in store for us this year? I can't wait to find out!