My Secret Life as a Mentor

Not many people I know are aware that I am a mentor through our local school district. I was a mentor a few years ago, and then I stopped when I began homeschooling my own children and didn't have the time any longer. I now mentor a middle school aged girl at a school some miles from my house. I did that on purpose; I didn't want to mentor someone from my own neighborhood.
Mentoring involves a time commitment. I visit with my mentee, I'll call her Julia, each week for one hour at her school. The most important part of this sort of mentoring is consistency. It doesn't work if I don't go regularly.
So far this year, we've been working on a puzzle and talking. I like this activity at the beginning of the relationship, because it gives your hands something to do while you get to know each other. It provides a distraction but does not require a lot of focus. And most kids like puzzles. They get to skip class to hang out and do puzzles. What kid wouldn't like that?