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"Hang you Hat" by Artist Lisa Rae Winant
Image used by permission of the Artist
37x10/ oil on panel
It was late-May in a dilapidated neighborhood just south of Griffenville, New York. The scent of freshly cut grass lingered in the warm pre-summer air. There was a buzz of excitement filling the streets as the town’s Dream Baseball Camp was about to open for the season. It was a long sought-after dream for three young boys; Michael, Brian and Jacob, to one day play on one of the numerous leagues at the camp. Unfortunately, the cost to visit Griffenville Dream Baseball Camp was five hundred dollars. Every fall, the boys each asked their mothers if they could apply to camp and the answer was always a disappointing “I can’t afford it!” What could this Dream Camp have that was worth more money than a single mom’s two-month salary?
One day while Jacob was throwing a baseball around, he discovered an old abandoned baseball field just behind his mother’s mobile home. This would be his only chance to play baseball on a real field. Jacob ran the entire two miles it takes to get to Michael and Brian’s neighborhood. The other two boys were baffled as to what could have possibly gotten into their friend, who was now so wound up he could barely speak. As the boys made their way back to the scene of Jacob’s incredible discovery, they were anxious with anticipation of what they would find. When they finally laid eyes on the field they just stared in awe. The boys played for hours. They even lost track of time. It wasn’t until the sun vanished on the horizon that they realized it was time to go home. The boys planned to meet again the next day for another fun filled day of baseball.
That night, all three boys had the best dreams that they had ever had in their lives. They all dreamt the same dream, that they were playing with each other on their own private baseball field. The next day, after a few hours of playing ball under the hot sun, the boy’s needed to find shelter. Michael suggested they build a tree house, Brian suggested a dug out and Jacob wanted a fort. After arguing, the boys decided that they shouldn’t settle on just one form of shelter when they could go to the dump and find things to build their own dream shelter. And that’s what they set out to accomplish. They each experienced more from using their own imagination than they could ever get from one week playing at Griffenville Dream Camp. They now had a place to play baseball all summer long.
A passion I have had for many years is working with children. It all began the summer after graduating junior high school when I began working at a private school/daycare center/summer camp in Nashua, NH, with two women, Danielle and Jessica, and a group of about sixteen two-three-year-olds. I was not quite old enough to have a “real” job so I was paid $5 an hour from 9-12 Mondays-Fridays as a counselor in training (CIT). When I arrived at work I would play with the children, help them clean up, go to the one foot pool with them and help out at lunch time. I found it so rewarding that I often stayed until 3 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I loved the women I worked with and the children so much that I decided to go back the next summer. Each summer I worked with Danielle and Jessica and we had a new group of lovable two-three-year-olds. I learned so much from the job such as how to work as a team, leadership skills, patience, and best of all I learned how to take care of a child. When I turned sixteen I received a new title, afternoon assistant, and continued to work in the same classroom but with new hours 11-6. I worked with Danielle and Jessica for six years.
This past summer was the first summer in all my years working at the school that I no longer had a position in pre-school. I was asked to work in a classroom in the infant wing because one of the teachers was on maternity leave. I was not thrilled at all. I was going to miss working with Danielle and Jessica and most of all I was going to miss the two-three-year-olds. I was put in the young toddler group; these children were only a year and a half old and had very little skills besides walking. On my very first day the amount of screams and cries was enough to make me want to yell I quit on the top of my lungs. I was very overwhelmed to say the least. I tried very hard to look at the bright side of working with this age group. One benefit was there was a smaller ratio of children; at most we would have twelve. I also didn’t have to worry about the kids missing me when I left at the end of summer because I thought to myself how would they have any awareness of where I was? These kids couldn’t even talk; all they did was cry.
A few weeks into summer camp and the crying was minimal and the children seemed to actually have fun and enjoy themselves. It wasn’t long before we taught them how to use sippy cups and then taught them how to drink out of cups. We introduced silverware, taught them how to throw away their trash and even how to wash their hands. Many children even began to use the words hi and bye. Soon we introduced more, please, and water into their vocabulary. I was amazed at how quickly they were able to learn. Some children took longer than others but at the end of summer I had helped teach the children how to do simple tasks that they would use for the rest of their lives. The greatest feeling was when I had children calling me by my name! It brings me to tears just to think about how much I will miss coming into work and hearing the kids yell out my name! At the end of the summer six children knew my name. What a wonderful gift they have given me.
