Memory Lane Farm

MLFIt’s starts with the idea that we are treasure hunters. As staff at Memory Lane Farm, we look for
the special, unique treasures that are found in each of our mentees. One of the treasures, as we
look back in over the past few months was graduating one of our Wranglers. “Nancy” had been
with us for longer than most Wranglers, due to her past traumas and need to continue to work
through challenges.

Nancy came to us in April 2021 with significant behavioral concerns. At a young age, she had
more encounters with police than most adults will ever see. Her tantrums were explosive, often
resulting in injuring her parent and vocalizing words that no child should ever say. When Nancy
started at MLF, we weren’t entirely sure that this program would benefit the complexities that
Nancy suffered from. She struggled in all relationships – at home, school and with authority.
Needless to say, Nancy presented us with a large menu of issues. We realized that although we
could never take her past away from her, or fix her mental health struggles, all we could do was
listen, laugh together, challenge her and hopefully see a little change. We became involved
with her school Care Team and were able to contribute to her monthly updates.

Although Nancy had two sessions where she unraveled herself - we saw the challenge of what
trigger stacking can do, along with witnessing what her mother had shared with us when she
would become unglued. Trauma has a funny way of bubbling up and negatively affecting
behaviors.

Through the months, Nancy came out of her shell. She became more talkative, more respectful,
more engaged and less combative. Nancy took ownership of her success. We worked hard to
find the little gems of treasures that Nancy could consider successes in her everyday life. As we
turned the calendar to the new year, we saw that Nancy had progressed to a point where she
was making thoughtful decisions, was more compassionate to her mother, siblings, friends and
teachers. Confidence and negative self talk were no longer her enemy, in fact she walked with
her head held high and was clearly thinking and excited for her future. She was hope-filled and
felt prepared to handle her emotions enough to talk about her fears and her excitement of
moving into middle school in the fall. As the final touch, Nancy volunteered to be a Mentor in
Training at our Agri-Venture Camp in June.

Nancy is a success story. She is a treasure – it took us a bit to peel off the layers of hurt, trauma
and fear – but Nancy came out on the other side and chose success in her world.

 

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