Lots of people have huge plans for vacations, excursions and parties when they are able to safely leave the pandemic behind. Big Sister Cathy Byrd just wants a hug.
Little Sister Olivia can’t wait!
They’ve been matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters for five years, the first four as School Buddies. This last year as Community Based has been the biggest challenge because they’ve been forced to meet online. Despite that, their relationship is rock solid and has only grown stronger through the adversity.
“She’s very nice and helps our family,” 11-year-old Olivia said. “She’s very caring.”
The irony is Olivia’s grandmother Ellen knew Cathy for years because they went to the same church, and Cathy’s daughter was in Ellen’s Sunday School class.
“She’s just a very neat lady to work with,” Ellen said. “Olivia really enjoys the attention of just her and Cathy having a bond. It was just a blessing that they got hooked up together.”
But for now, Olivia and Cathy are limited to doing things online, and their favorite thing to do is crafting. They recently made an Advent calendar, a Christmas tree collar out of a lampshade and ornaments out of Christmas cards.
“She’s a very artsy kid,” Cathy said. “It’s been challenging because I’ve been literally looking around the house for stuff, anything I could come up with. I would do a lot of research and try to come up with stuff we could do with things I had on hand.”
Though she has no grandchildren, Cathy has three grown children who can’t wait to meet Olivia. She’s started asking Olivia to step up with some more ideas on things they can do. They recently made homemade pizza with cheese and pepperoni, and the dough consisted of yogurt and flour.
“She has some ideas, some things we’re interested in doing when we can,” Cathy said. “We just try to be as creative as we can be.”
They are also making lists of things they’d like to do once the Pandemic is over and they can get outside together. So far, Olivia has mentioned going to the library where she can pick up more “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books and more stories about unicorns.
But a hug is at the top of both their lists!
If you’d like to find out more about being involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana as a potential Big, volunteer or donor, call 260-456-1600 or go to bbbsnei.org.
