This is such a sweet post — I am giving you a taste then you can go to see her blog to finish:

Friday, June 20, 2014

Living the Rich Life

Now that school’s out, every time I leave my apartment I’m accosted by a kid who wants to do art with me.  I offer an art class every week for kids in the Bridge Meadows neighborhood.  For a few kids, I also have weekly one on one time to work on art and books and stories.  But it’s not quite enough now that summer is here.

I know I’ve had this opportunity to become popular with kids because of my unique living situation here at Bridge Meadows.  We are an intentional community organized to support families adopting 3 or more children out of the foster care system.  On our city block in Portland, Oregon, we have 9 single family homes, and apartments for seniors who provide support for the families. We seniors get a sense of purpose; the children get a sense of permanence.  There are about 30 kids under the age of 16 here.

In any other neighborhood, I might not know any of them, but here, I am welcome to form bonds with all of them.  Their parents know I’ve been vetted — I’ve passed a criminal background check and gotten training on how to work with children with challenging backgrounds.  I’ve been here over 2 years now and I’ve seen children grow from being distrustful and anxious to being playful and creative.  It’s an amazing transformation and I feel so blessed to help open creative channels for them. (Continue to finish!)