Dorm Parent Weekend off...

Twenty girls, one boy, two college graduates and one weekend...
My mind is still whirling from these past few days, while our Dorm Parents took their weekend off, leaving Candy and I to run the dorm for two and a half days. Although this was the third Dorm Parent weekend off, it was the first one that we did not have any extra help.

Perhaps the most difficult juggling trick when DP's are off involves driving. Both Candy and I drive vans with 9 seats, but we can never leave any of the girls at home alone. Solving our dorm driving probles was like solving that logic problem with the fox, cat, and rabbit that need to get accross the pond, but the fox can't be alone with the cat and only one can cross the river at a time, etc. Anyhow, I think that my logic abilities have sky-rocketed recently, and so have our driving skills as I drove into Kandern 7 or 8 times on Saturday alone. :)

In addition to the commotion of driving and cooking some large meals, I started to learn more about the importance of my role as a consistent parent. While I always planned and looked forward to listening to the girls and being a loving voice that could speak into their lives, I did not plan on fulfilling this additional role. Several older and wiser BFA staff members have recently reminded me that kids need consistency, and not constant grace when they mess up-- consistency in discipline is truly for their own benefit. Although the students may hate having limits, they need some. Then, they can fiugre out how to live within those boundaries. I hate making people angry, but am starting to see that consistent discipline is an incredibly important part of serving these girls well. By God's grace, I am trying to be more of a parental figure now to some of my girls.

After the intensity of the weekend: driving, cooking, and parenting, Candy and I enjoyed many sleepy giggles on Sunday night. Finally, the Lord graced me with one fantastic conversation with one of my Juniors who really needed someone to listen and chat. I was so honored to be that person. We stayed up late, laughing and crying together. That conversation made everything else this weekend seem worthwhile.