Vegan Momma

Early Morning Campfire

Of course I took photos of our overnight camping trip. I did not bring my Nikon D80. I took along my Canon A540. That stays in my backpack aka purse. It’s a great point & shoot camera.

Anyway I was the first one up this morning as I mentioned in a prior post I probably slept an hour total. The fire had burned down during the early morning but I was able to coax it back. Many of our mentees, especially the younger ones, have never experienced the great outdoors, like I have, let alone camping.

Time to break down the campsite

It was a fabulous chance for me to share something I truly love. Enjoying the great outdoors. Communicating with nature. we can learn a lot from nature. If we can pay attention and listen. Many of us are too busy to do that. Perhaps we need to slow down, eh? It was a chance for many of our mentees to see this fabulous world from a different perspective.
* The girl pictured zipping up the sleeping bag is probably the one I’ll mentor on a 1:1 basis next year.

I had a captive audience as I pointed out the edible herbs/weeds and what they were used for. I pointed out a few trees; oaks, birch, beechnut, pine, etc., I pointed out their similarities & differences. about their differences and how each one helps our environment. How do they do that you ask? A few of the ways they help are…

1. Filter air pollution
2. Absorb carbon dioxide
3. Reduce noise pollution
4. Prevent soil erosion
5. Provide wind breaks
6. Conserve energy by shading our buildings

Two of our older mentees

These are some of our older girls. They have 1:1 mentors. I mentor six fifth grade girls. I truly enjoy spending time with them. There are many reasons I choose to work for myself and one of those reasons is that I have more time to spend with these fabulous young ladies.

When I walked away from my office job one of my concerns was moving to another job. Why? It most likely would not give me the time to spend with the girls as I wanted. I did not want to walk away from them. I developed a strong bond with them and I didn’t want to severe those ties. Towards the end of my time at the non-profit organization I knew the only way I would truly be happy was to work for myself once again. I made that move.

My daughter, Aiyana, in red and her favorite mentee (one of mine) in the background.

Aiyana thoroughly enjoyed herself. She’s been around my mentees as well as the older mentees numerous times before. They accept her. They are always asking about her. She does the same with them. Isn’t that sweet?