Talking to Santa

Well, I'm home again and it's christmas time. Which means time to volunteer more hours out at the state school.My father got me started volunteering back when he used to work there. I actually really enjoy it. So anyway every year at this time, dad volunteers to play Santa and Kara and I are his elves who take pictures of him with the kids for a nice donation of three dollars for the state school. It's one of my favorite jobs. The kids are always so excited. Upper level clients are allowed to come see Santa too. Otherwise he just goes and visits them in the homes.This year C. came out.We'll refer to him as C. For those of you who don't know what a state school is, they are a governement based program designed to care for mentally challenged clients. C. is an upper level client with a dual diagnosis (mental health and mental retardation). He is very sweet, one of my favorite dance partners at the dances the school hosts for them. We take pictures at the dances too. A few years back my dad gave him a photo of him with a volunteer dancer from McMurry and he started crying. He told my dad he was just so tired of being alone and more than anything he wanted to be married. How do you comfort him when he says something like that? Clients with dual diagnosisies? have practically no hope of leaving the school. Anyway, C. came to see Santa his year. He told dad that he wanted the entire south park series on DVD, but then as he was walking away he turned around and said," Os Santa! I forgot! What I really want for christmas is to not be MHMR anymore, I want to be more like my friend Tony." What can even Santa say to that? One of the other volunteers piped up with,"C. I know Tony and trust me, he's not that normal."

I still don't know what to think of all that.I feel horrible. How many selfish things have I asked for for christmas over the years? I don't understand why C. is the way he is. Does God make people like that? I can't wait till heaven when all of us are equal.i can't wait till a time comes when C. won't have to be lonely anymore.