— Chapter 3 —
“I don’t care how many times you tell me, I’m not going to wash the dishes!” Cory yelled, storming out of the front door, slamming it as he stomped.
“I am so sick of them telling me what to do,” Cory thought, leaves crunching beneath his feet as he trudged through the woods, “Who do they think they are?”
For the past 6 months, Cory had pushed back against everything his Houseparents had thrown at him.
Making his bed? Yeah, right.
Sweeping the floors? You’ve got to be kidding.
Cleaning the bathroom? Not. A. Chance.
Continuing his furious march through the woods, his thoughts whirled, “I am so over this place. I want to go home. Nothing is getting better, it’s just getting worse. Why bother even trying?”
A loud snap of a branch behind him made Cory jump. He spun around, his eyes landing on his Counselor, Bruce.
“Great…” Cory thought. Bruce was the one person he did not want to see right now.
Whenever Cory was overwhelmed with emotion—anger, fury, jealousy, depression, sadness—Bruce always found a way to make him talk. As much as Cory tried to avoid it, moments later he found himself in Bruce’s car, headed to McDonald’s.
“Well, at least I’ll get some good food out of this,” Cory thought as they drove in silence.
Walking in the doors of the restaurant, the smell of French fries hit his nostrils. His mouth began to water. Cory already knew what he was going to order: chicken nuggets and a vanilla milkshake.
Snacking on his lunch and playing around in the ball pit, Bruce simply sat and asked Cory questions. Some questions Cory answered, some he didn’t.
Lying on top of the balls, staring up at the netting above him, Cory began to pour out his heart to Bruce. Sharing his hurt, pain, regret, wishes, wants and hopes. Little did Cory know, Bruce was counseling him—helping him work through the pain of his life while he played and munched on chicken nuggets and a vanilla shake.
The Counseling aspect of our program is crucial to the overall success of our children and families. Learn more about the Counseling Program at Eagle Ranch on our website by clicking here.
Curious for more? Watch a short video from Cory himself about him as a child at Eagle Ranch.