Though she’s only 9 years old, LeiLani thinks she wants to become a singer, even writing her own songs and performing them around her Decatur home.
And she already has one huge fan.
Because her mother has health issues which make her a high-risk candidate for Covid-19, Lani and her two older brothers have been homeschooling this year. She’s 9, Kaleb is 17 and Andrew is 12, meaning there’s a lot of energy and creativity flowing around their apartment.
“Whenever Black Lives Matter protests were going on over the summer, she even made up her own little song,” her mother Stephanie said. “It was a couple of little chords, and she was singing it around the house.”
Because her father is part-Hispanic and part-Native American, Lani knows she’s bi-racial.
Starting at the end of June, Lani was matched with Bellmont High School business teacher Robin Egly as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana. Egly has 19-year-old twins who were hugely involved in school activities, including three or four sports per year, until they graduated. Because Robin said she didn’t really have any hobbies or outside interests, now she needed something new to do so she wanted to become a Big Sister.
“I joined to have experiences or give my Little experiences because that’s what I did for my kids,” Robin said.
Partly because she was always very close to her teachers, Lani almost immediately bonded with Robin as a Little Sister.
“I can actually have a friend while I’m homeschooling,” Lani said. “She makes me feel good about myself by spending time with me and doing things with me.”
Sometimes that meant meeting in Robin’s car in the parking lot, playing games, working on crafts or sometimes going for a short walk. They also pained rocks and hid them. Another time, they rode bikes through Wells County’s Oaubache State Park.
One time they splurged and Robin took Lani to her classroom for popcorn, making a craft and watching “Toy Story.”
And one time Lani sang for Robin.
“She’s a sweet little girl,” Robin said. “She likes to make up songs for the moment and write stories. She’s a great little friend, and I enjoy spending time with her.”
But Robin had no idea what was coming at Christmas. After Robin had presented Lani with some Barbie Children, Lani and her family starting building something for Robin. When Lani heard “The 12 Days of Christmas” on the radio, she started figuring out things that would represent each day. She started with 12 campers camping, followed by 11 Pipers playing. Piper is the family’s 4-year-old miniature pincher-chihuahua mix who thinks she’s a cat, Stephanie said.
That was followed by 10 dogs a-bouncing, nine ladies dancing and eight girls on ice, followed by swimming, popcorn, playing games, singing songs and Tik Toks. It finishes with “Two movies with me,” including a picture of Lani and Robin on the movie screen, and the first day of Christmas features ice cream with some frosting.
How can you beat that?
Well, under the rotation of pictures on a ZIP drive is a short verse of Lani singing “My True Big Sent to Me.”
Kaleb helped put everything together, and Andrew drew some ice cream with sprinkles.
“The thing that took the longest was Lani’s singing, getting her to slow down and sing the pace,” Stephanie said.
And better yet, they gave it to Robin on the actual 12th Day of Christmas, a precious gift which Robin will cherish forever.
“I couldn’t ask for a better one,” Robin said. “She’s a lot of fun and I enjoy getting to spend time with her.”
Oh, she better because Lani is currently making up a huge list of post-quarantine projects such as going ice skating, playing with Piper and going to the park in Berne that has all the fun stuff to do.
Robin can’t wait.
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.