This is gonna be so cool!

I've made it through week two! I got a much clearer picture this week of what I'll actually be doing throughout the year with SOURCE, and I got to meet more of the people I'll be serving! My conclusion: this year is going to rock, literally at some points. I went out to Pooler, Georgia today to meet the 3 guys that I'll be visiting every Tuesday and Thursday. They are 16, 22 and 23 and they all have cerebral palsy. I went to the youngest one's house and he is one of the coolest people I've met so far in Georgia. Within 2 minutes of walking in the door we were both rocking out on the guitar and he was belting out one of his favorite songs. I was soon inducted as a band member. Talk about a cool introduction. He was so excited to have a guy around to hang out with because he just has his mom, sister and nurse at home. I was excited to hang out with a guy too, I mean nothing against my wonderful community members (we're getting along fantastically!) but sometimes I just want to hang out with some dudes. He kept asking me if I'd be back on Tuesday, he was so excited. I can honestly say I was thrilled as well. He loves to go outside too, so hopefully I can help him get out and do more.

So on to my fellow 22 year old. He lives in a personal care home which very much resembles a nursing home because he is the only one there under 65. I'm not sure what happened with his family but whatever it was, he's kinda on his own now. Evidently, he's been asking about me for the past month because he's also excited to have a new buddy around. I also want to help him connect with people his own age and get out of the care home a little bit. So that will be my goal. He also LOVES video games and we already have it set up to play some Playstation when I go back on Tuesday. I'm excited.

The 23 year old (sorry - I'm hesitant to use any names with all the training I just went through about confidentiality) has significantly less communication ability so it was harder for me to understand how he felt about me being there, but from what his mom was saying he was very happy to meet me. She said he's just thrilled for anyone to sit down and talk to him. He can understand what is going on around him, it's just hard for him to communicate. His mom also said that he loves to go outside and go on the computer too. So I'll be able to help him do more of those kinds of things.

So basically, my Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be awesome! I've also spent more time down in the Adult Day Center at the Georgia Infirmary and spent all day yesterday listening to a woman's life story. It was amazing. The things she has been through and the experiences she has had - I can't even imagine. It was struggle after struggle - heartbreak after heartbreak, and here she was the brightest shining smiling face in the room. It was truly amazing. I took notes as best I could and typed them up for her - she wants to put together a book to save for her grandchildren. I am so happy that I am able to get to know these people and even now I'm a little anxious about having to up and leave them in a year. 

Apart from work, it looks like we might be headed to the beach tomorrow --->
So that's exciting - hope it doesn't rain. I also found out about pick up games of ultimate frisbee and soccer a few nights a week down at Forsyth Park so I will definitely be taking advantage of that in the future. 

I hope everyone is doing well, and be sure to drop me a line every now and then!