We live for the weekend but more so we live for the week.........

Some of you might be wondering what my title means this time around. I think that it is pretty self explanatory. It states that we live for the weekend but more so we live for the week. The reason that I say this is because this weekend I had an experience with one of my sisters that I will never forget. But before that, let me go into a little bit of a back story. There are seven of us in the family total. There's my dad, my Michigan, and then there are my four sisters and me. In order there's my older sister who is number one, then me who is number two, then the third oldest three, and the fourth who is four, and then the youngest who is number five. All of these numbers were blessed and given to us by our parents. 

For a normal Penn State weekend, the fabulous seven of us get together and have a gigantic tailgate to embrace the greatness of Penn State and the tradition of the nittany lion.  We take the time to catch up and  bond with one another never skipping a beat. We bust out guitars and start rapping. We even sing Jonas Brothers songs to our dad and mom. All a part of the good fun. But there are times when not all of us can make it to the games and you can tell that there is a shift in how we normally role into things. It is not the same. For me I feel as if a whole half and whole of me is missing. I always want everyone to be there to experience everything with me. I don't want to say that I miss one person or this person would really like this if they were here. I want us all to have that experience together. 

This weekend, that was not probable but it is ok. Number three and I went. We missed everyone but we shared a moment together that I would love to have had everyone there for. It was towards the end of the game when I noticed that the nittany lion was being passed onto the freshman student section. It just so happens that our seats were not that far from there. So what did we do.... we snuck over of course! So as I noticed that the lion was being passed casually, I asked her if she wanted to go and test it out. Give it a whirl or even a test drive. She agreed because afterall the score was in the 50's by this point. So we went for it. We collected ourselves and headed over to the student section where we commanded the lion passing.

Number two made it into the midst of all the kids who were passing and I made it to the back of the passers. I can't tell you the last time that I did that. For the two of us it was thrilling and exhilarating to be able to be able to have that experience together and at the end we got our picture with the nittany lion. However, in the back of our minds we kept thinking about how much we wanted the others to be there with us and more importantly how our mom and dad were missing out on one of the many most exciting parts of our football season. We just wanted everyone to be there with us! Especially our little sister number five who adores the lion. We kept thinking about the fun time that we had but how it was not the same. 

That was the weekend part, now here comes the week part. This week was my first week where I had. I realized that I really missed being around the kids and being involved in the community. My Monday was alright but I was looking forward to seeing the shining faces of the little kids like I normally do everyday. You never really realize how much of an impact they have until you spend the day not being around them. My first thought was what are they doing today since ROCK is not around and it is a big part of their life. How are they handling not having it on a Monday? are they feeling safe and content where they are? or are they lacking something? 

As soon as I had that thought, I immediately thought there was something that I could do about it. I had been thinking about getting a speaker to come in to motivate the kids to set high goals for themselves and achieve whatever they want in life. I began working harder then ever to get a speaker and making contact with the speaker for our program. Then a blessing came into my inbox of my phone. My Michigan had mentioned that there was going to be a particular speaker at my Alma matter that would be very insightful to the kids in my program. So i took the notes down and I wrote all her advice down as to what I should do. Needless to say that thanks to her I am looking forward to pitching the idea to my boss and hoping that homecoming weekend I can do everything I can to get that particular speaker to come and talk to the kids in the program. Because of Michigan and all her great ideas, I look forward to pitching new ideas to my boss everyday about what we can do to make these kids lives a little bit better everyday.

I don't know if she knows this... but maybe she just might, Michigan is one heck of a woman who is really smart and has a wonderful creative mind and background. I look forward to chatting with her during the week to tell her about what is going on with the kids in the program but I also look to her for creative insight. She helps me become a better person and really grow creatively at my job and that is more than I can ask for. I look forward to our skype chats and our frequent texts because that lets me know that I am doing something to help these kids and help shape them for the future which is the most important part. 


So when I say that we live for the weekend but we more so live for the week, I am referring to how on the weekends we can get together all seven of us focus on one another and how we are each doing but during the week we find the time to help one another excel in our lives whether it be a hand to hold, a ear to listen, or even a mouth to give advice we are always there. I am proud to say that they are my family and they have now helped another child who they have never met and have never seen but because of their advice they are helping them with their future. 


Moral of the story... the next time that you are doing something and part of your family isn't there, think about them and how they would feel if they could be there and invite them to come along that time or the next time. When someone gives you advice, remember that it is not to fault you but to benefit you and the others around you.  Who knows it could change the way that you see your life or the life of another.... This is a planet of peace and harmony, let's try to keep it that way.