Ethan's First Job

At 13 years old it's only volunteer work, but it's still a job.

My mother in law had a stroke a few years ago that left her in a wheelchair and very different than she was before. I'm always touched when I see how Ethan is with her. He's so loving and not timid in anyway. So when I got an email a few days ago from another homeschooling mom asking if any teens would be interested at volunteering at a near by nursing home, I thought Ethan would be perfect! I contacted the volunteer coordinator at the home that day and she agreed to meet with Ethan the next morning.

It was so cute watching him get ready for his "interview"! He spent waaay too long fixing his hair and added waaay too much gel! He was pretty nervous when we got there, but the lady really liked him and asked him if he wanted to start THAT AFTERNOON! We already had plans that day so he signed up to come back the next morning.

If I ever have to be put in a nursing home, I want to go in one like this place! It's beautiful! They took us on a tour and showed us the beauty salon, the cafe, and where they set up the bowling alley. The rooms are huge and they all have big flat screen TVs! Some of them even have patios. And this isn't an assisted living home where they can come and go as they please! It's a nursing home. A nursing home that I kind of wanted to move in to ;)

So for the past couple of days I've been dropping Ethan off at "work". He stays for just a couple of hrs and helps with things like transporting the ladies to and from the hair salon, helping the residents with activities like bingo, and just spending time with them. On Monday he's helping a lady with their cooking show :) 

The way it's all set up is really nice. They just send us an email and Ethan just puts himself into the schedule for whatever and whenever we want. No pressure. Because there's no pressure, and he has so much control, I told him that he should try and stick it out for at least a few months but I'm hoping that it turns into something more long term. 

I am soooo proud of him! He loves it as much as I though he would and he's already received some positive feed back from the activities director. I love hearing him talk about the residents he's meeting and the funny little thing they do! He says it may just be volunteer work, but at least he's doing something that makes a difference!