Starr Was a Little…and She Still is
Starr’s father, for reasons that only he knows and understands, was not a part of her life for the first eleven years. (This is a subject that I plan to explore more in the future.) One of the many things I tried to do as a single parent was to give Starr effective, positive role models. In my friends, in my family, in my self.
When she was about six years old, I signed her up for a Big Sister at our local Big Brothers/Big Sisters agency. She was excited about the prospect of having a big sister and was matched rather quickly. There was a long waiting list for the boys, but there were fewer girls in the system so they matched her to Jill within weeks.
Jill was sweet, young, and completely not ready to be a mentor. Jilly-Bean as Starr called her was fun for several months, but she was inconsistent, and it turns out was having an affair with her boss and ended up pregnant. Suddenly dropping Starr without a goodbye. Brokenhearted, Starr went through the matching process for a second time.
This time she was matched with Jennifer. Jennifer was a young college student, approximately Starr’s age now. I was worried that we would have a Jill part two. I was wrong. Jen and Starr quickly fell in love. They attended many of the BBBS events as well as making their own fun. They became a part of each others lives, each claiming the other as a real sister. Starr watched Jen finish college and become a high school teacher, move from her parents home and get married. She was an incredible role model. I will be forever grateful for her presence in our lives.
Starr and I moved away from the Phoenix area when Starr was ten, but she and Jen have remained sisters at heart. Still keeping in touch, emailing, texting, calling and visiting each other when possible.
We are blessed to have Jen in our lives, and we are big supporters of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization.
Thank you Jen! I love you.
[...] Since we used to live there, she has an attachment to the Phoenix area and spending time with my parents is something that she always loves to do! She was able to visit and spend time with the little girl who used to live across the street and her best friend forever, Katie as well as her Big Brothers Big Sisters sister Jen. [...]