A couple of Saturdays ago, Kurt, his dad, grandma and I went to the annual pig roast fundraiser at Community Homestead, (www.communityhomestead.org) a non-profit rural community living and working with people with special needs. We’ve been hitting this event for six years, since Kurt was 14.
Our first taste of the farm was back then, as Kurt and I spent one afternoon a week volunteering in the work groups. I learned how to make drip candles and Kurt helped in the chicken barn or with making stained glass art.
Attending the pig roast in previous years was taxing. We’d coax Kurt out of the van, promising the petting zoo. We’d walk around and seek out some of the people we knew, but Kurt would hide his face. At the buffet line, (pork, homemade sauerkraut, new potatoes, a lettuce salad picked fresh from their garden, other sides, and a table of home baked desserts) Kurt would hold his plate just enough not to drop it and complain about anything we put on his plate. Once back at the van after we ate, Kurt wouldn’t get in. Yikes! It was a frustrating, tiring day (and we were only there for a couple of hours).
Oh, the change this year!
The pig roast was on his mind all week. “Can I bring the movie camera?” Kurt said. Then he’d go on about his friend Hillary or something Mark said.
On that afternoon, instead of being the shy, unsocial teen, Kurt said “Hi” to all his friends and even introduced us to people he didn’t know! We watched him eat a full plate of food. Then he gave us a tour through the flower and vegetable gardens, and the orchards.
Not only was it great for us to see Kurt maturing, the event raised $3000. The money will be used to install the kitchen in the new community center.
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