Greek Gods and Party Animals

I usually stick to talking about my own family, but I wanted to share this experience. As some of you know, I work in an adolescent treatment center with children ages 12-18 who have varying levels of mental illness, learning disabilities, ADHD, levels of mental retardation, and histories of abuse. A day at work can be highly rewarding, but many times it is also mentally and physically exhausting! There are times I come home and just want to crash out for a while because I feel like I have been completely drained. That doesn't sound like it bodes well for my own children, but believe it or not it makes me appreciate them more. It reminds me to be thankful for the wonderful little people they are and the opportunities we are able to give them, but that is a topic for another time. Back to my work story.
So I have a 13 year old boy at work who is reading the Rick Riordan books. All of them. At once. Because of my son Ben, I have read all of the Percy Jackson books, The Kane Chronicles, and The Heroes of Olympus books. So my knowledge of the characters opened up a delightful conversation with the boy at work. For the sake of argument, let's call him Joe. Joe was delighted that I knew about the books he was reading and asked me tons of questions. This is a boy who depicts himself as Mr. Know Everything and he was asking me questions (Side note, Joe frequently makes things up and tries to pass them off as facts, so this is a huge deal).  So Joe asked his questions and I happily answered them. Why is this so important? Because this was an opening for me and this boy to build trust and comfort in our conversations. The result is that Joe is way more comfortable talking to me now. He knows I care about him and his interests. He knows he can trust me and that I really am there for him. So this is a huge accomplishment for me at work!
It is also a great reminder as a mom. I read the books my children read because I want to know what they are reading, but also so that I can have conversations with them like I did with Joe. I have three wonderful children who literally make it worth getting up in the morning and I know how very fortunate I am in life. I love being able to share their interests and have discussions with them. I love their unique opinions and how excited they get over topics that interest them. I love my job and I think it is making me a better mom.