Kidd's Kids!!!

Wow, I am going on my fourth Kidd's Kids trip this year. I am not going to lie to you. Its not something you get used to. There is no way to prepare yourself to endure the emotions you go through. It’s a gift that I get to receive every year.

We see so many kids who come on the trip with their guard fully up because of what they have to deal with in the "real world". As the days pass, that guard slowly comes down. The kids who shy away at the beginning of the trip are hanging on your back and calling you funny names by the fourth day, “doo doo” head is pretty popular. That is what makes this trip so amazing. I come from a large family, who I no longer feel very connected to because of distance, but for 5 days of my life I have a family... a very large family. I feel like a big brother throughout the trip. That is the one thing that means the most to me on this trip.

I was fortunate enough to have had the chance to go on the trip only three months after getting the job on the show. I was a lost soul for those three months. I didn’t know who I was, or who I was supposed to be on the show, Kidd will second that statement for sure. I don’t believe I have ever said this before, but the trip was the reason I am still lucky enough to be part of this show. When we went on the trip I was able to let go, and let loose. I didn’t try to be who I thought people wanted me to be. I am a kid trapped in a grown mans body, and I will always have that personality. Those kids on the 2006 trip brought the real me out of hibernation.

Luckily we get to see most of these families during the happiest moments of their lives. But what we don’t know about is what happens after we come back. These kids go back to the hospital routines, they go back to being "different", and sadly... some pass away. Cherry Delgado was a girl who I spent a lot of time with during the 2007 trip. The pictures I have of her contain nothing but smiles. And that is how I will always remember her. To this day I will receive emails from her brother, Joey, and the one thing he always brings up is his sister and how his trip was the best moment in her life. So everyday when I come to work I stare at the picture of her on my computer and smile. Marcos Saldana, aka my lil brother, is a kid who went on the trip last year. He reminds me of myself so much that I developed an instant big bro, lil bro connection with him. He has CF and has spent more than half of the past year in and out of the hospital. He missed Christmas, New Years, a good portion of his school year, and other things that a little boy should not miss. Every time I go visit him, his parents remind me how much it means to them to have experienced the trip, but I am the one who feels lucky enough to be a part of his life. He is still very sick, but he always stays positive... he always says that he cant feel sorry for himself because he knows that there are other kids who are in a worse situation. Just something that the trip was able to show him. Neat huh?

I can’t wait to meet my new "family members" this year and introduce them to our big radio family :)

WORD!