Yesterday I told Carl (my Little Brother) my birthday was coming up this weekend, and he asked how old I was turning. When I asked him to guess, he said 36.

“Carl, let me give you your first piece of woman advice.”

“Uh-oh.”

“When a woman asks you hold old you think they are, it’s a good rule to guess about 10 years younger than you really think they are.”

“You’re not 36, are you.”

“No. I’m turning 29.”

“Oh.”

*quiet pause for 30 seconds, while we continue to finger and sort a box of seashells*

“My Dad’s 36, and he’s, like old.”

“Dude, that means you think I’m, like, old.”

“I’d better shut-up now, huh?”

“That’d be a good idea, buddy.”

Carl, my Little Brother, and I, have been meeting for around two months now. We are really starting to feel comfortable around each other.

Which means I gently poke fun of him to make him laugh, and he makes farting noises.

Check out this (awesome, if I may brag) wizard. Which he painted himself. I taught him technique and guided colours, but he did it all. I especially love the red spooky lines in the eyes, which was alllll his idea.
We spent the day yesterday building towers out of Jenga blocks and dominoes pieces. And crafting long snakes of blocks on end and knocking them over. There’s nothing more satisfying than watching the line tumble or stacking until they all come crashing down.

We recently changed our time to earlier in the afternoon, which means I’ve been bringing my lunch. And since I’m a mom and can’t stand to eat in front a child but don’t want to share, either, the past few weeks I’ve brought Carl treats: bakery cookies, chocolate hearts for Valentine’s Day, and yesterday, a sprinkle doughnut.

“Are you sure you don’t mind missing recess once a week?”

“Nah, I don’t mind.”

“Well, geez, I wouldn’t mind either if someone brought me treats.”

Carl laughs and licks a pink pinhead-sized sprinkle from his lip.

“I wouldn’t mind missing it even if there weren’t any doughnuts.”

And that, my friends, is the best compliment an 11-year-old boy has even given me. Sounds like we’re on the right track.

Day 21: 29 Days of the Everyday

On the counter when he came home last night in honour of the holiday.

Cherry, if you’re wondering, from the fabulous Bredin’s Bakery. They also supplied Carl and I with half a dozen cookies (empire and chocolate chip to die for, if you ever go).

For good measure: Baked this morning to seal the title.

When I started at the newspaper years ago, I met one of my favourite bosses ever, Dave.

Dave is tall and handsome and funny and sincere and caring and encouraging and smart. He listened. We bought each other coffees and he bugged me each time I went outside for a cigarette. He was the proudest when I quit. I work-adored him.

One of the things that showed Dave’s true character was his devotion to Big Brothers. He was an in-school mentor to a boy whose name escapes me, but that Dave treasured. No matter how busy we were or what the weather was like, Dave made his appointment with his little guy. They’ve been partnered for years, and their friendship has blossomed outside of school.

After I heard about the mentor program, I was dying to be involved. (In-school doesn’t mean you tutor, but meet in the school environment for a fun hour to chat, play games, go for walks, do crafts etc., which sounds so fun.) But my work location, commute, time, pregnancy and subsequent maternity leave prevented me from being able to commit to a school/location. So I never got into it, as much I wanted to.

Until now!

The stars have aligned in the perfect scenario for mentoring: I work minutes from the school, have a flexible schedule, and am finally settled. So a few weeks ago, when Big Brothers/Big Sisters ran an ad in our local paper, I emailed right away.

And this week, I got the news that they’ve matched me with a boy named Carl. He’s 11, in grade 6 at my old senior public school. He loves art.

We meet next Wednesday. I’m excited and nervous all at the same time. Last night I read through all the mentor paperwork on suggested activities, what to talk about, how to manage the relationship.

I’m thrilled.

Obviously I can’t divulge too much about Carl — and definitely want to talk to him about what I write here to make sure he’s comfortable — but I do want to document our (hopeful!) friendship in its parallel to Lucy.

Wish us luck.

(ps — today is the last day of NaBloPoMo, and I’m looking forward to a nice break this weekend. It actually wasn’t hard to post an additional two days a week, but it will be nice to have the flexibility to skip a day…)