ECHS Mentor Bret has gained so much from the mentorship with his buddy. The most significant thing I have gained from my relationship with my buddy is a new perspective on the relationships I can build within my community. Prior to becoming a mentor for AFK, I was unaware that my buddy lived just down the street from me. Because of the connection formed by AFK, my buddy and I have created a fantastic friendship that I am very thankful for. I could have not asked for a better friend: we share a love for baking and animals, and he is always entertaining with the dramatic Lego movie scenes he constructs. I look forward to continuing my friendship with my buddy throughout my senior year and beyond!
“When is Bret coming this weekend? What time?” This is the question we’ve gotten every Saturday morning since we met Bret a year and a half ago. Our soon looks so forward to their “hang-out time” every weekend! Bret is a calm, consistent presence in our son’s often chaotic life of doctor visits, school activities, and everything else that goes along with being a child with Kabuki syndrome in the middle of a big busy family. Bret takes time and has the patience for activities with our son that sometimes we can’t give. Together they mostly bake, play board games, go out to eat or to a movie, or play Legos, but Bret is always willing to do whatever our son dreams up to do. One of my favorite things about their relationship is that Bret is the only one in our son’s life that he lets in on his “movie game” that he plays with his Legos where he uses his Lego people to act out movies he’s making up. He gets quite animated and loud with this and has never let anyone else in his room when he’s doing this. Bret, however, has somehow gained his trust enough, and shown him such unconditional acceptance, that our son invites him to play this with him just about every time Bret is over. Thank you, Bret, for showing our son what true friendship is about and being such a wonderful part of his life.
