The makings of a great leader

Oh, the joys of being an older teenager.  Buddy-child rode to school on the school bus last Friday and this year, the middle school (7 and 8 grades) are on the bus with them.  She said it wasn’t bad when she got on but then all these little kids got on the bus and they sat at the BACK of the bus!  Don’t they know that they’re the youngest and they’re supposed to sit in the front and the big kids get the back seats???

It gets better.  Two grade 7 boys sit right by her and they’re chatting.  According to buddy-child, they look like they’re 5 years old.  The one turns to the other boy and says “I think I’m going to grow a beard”.  Buddy nearly fell off her seat.  He’s got at least another 30 years before he’ll be old enough to actually grow hair.

One kid turns to the other, “so, what are you going to do at recess”.

That one almost did her in.

Apparently, they don’t know how to walk down the hall properly either.  They walk in the MIDDLE instead of on the right – like a roadway.

At one point I mentioned how odd it was that the grade 9 kids were so much smaller and way more immature than when she was in grade 9…  She’s adamant that they are.

For all the frustration over all these “little kids”, buddy did a really great thing with them the other day.  They had their Frosh Thursday and it was a day of games and fun challenges.  She’s taken on a mentoring job and was a leader for a group of grade 9 kids.  She shared that role with another fellow in her grade.

All was well until they got to the second last challenge.  There was a big tub / pool type of structure and in it were marbles.  Also in it was a bunch of rotten fruit and vegetables mixed up with dog food and other smelly things.  You got points based on how many marbles you managed to get out of the tub.  No one wanted to go in.  Finally, one little teeny tiny grade 9 girl volunteers to “take one for the team” and says she will do it.  Buddy, being the group leader feels like she can’t let this girl do it by herself so the two of them go into the tub holding hands.  I think buddy had about three showers that night trying to get rid of the smell.  You know what though, that was one of her finest moments.  She stepped up to the plate and took on the role of a true leader and didn’t let her ‘kid’ do something alone or something she wasn’t prepared to do with her.

I was really quite proud of her.