Sometimes, the kids we work with have rough days. Sometimes, our staff have rough days. It’s just part of what a healing center like ours is like. When you help a teenager begin to open up about themselves, what they are feeling, and often what has happened to them in the past, there are bound to be raw emotions and some acting out. But in between those challenging days, there are the good ones. The days that make it all worth it. The ones where an amazing kid has a break-through, a period where they feel accomplished or have an “ah-ha moment” about their own self-worth. These are the days we work so hard for.
One of our staff shared her thoughts yesterday, after one of the better days:
Days like today can be very long, but I am so thankful for them. Today I got to tag along on a follow up for a previous resident at EV who is doing amazingly well (made it there and back in one piece and I even avoided feeding their chickens!).
Then tonight I worked a shift in one of the houses. I wish that these kids’ parents would realize the lengths their kids would go to because of how much they love their parents – despite what awful things have happened. The opportunities that I had tonight to speak with some of these girls, though, are moments I would not trade for the world. Being able to tell them that they are special and loved when they are most vulnerable and hurting. Building them up. Living life with them. Those moments are extremely hard, wishing I could take the pain away, but they are the moments where I see the most growth in our kids.
Days like today provide plenty of reasons why we at Eagle Village do what we do
