Reflecting Back
Last August, 3 young cousins visited for a couple of weeks. To protect their privacy, we'll reference them as E (girl, age 9 at the time), R (boy 5) and E2 (boy 4). Their mom had to take a trip into Georgia, taking her oldest with her (A, girl 11). The kids were great. They climbed into their aunt's car after only knowing her a few days and drove 11 hours to our place with few issues. Looking back on their stay, I can only remember good memories. R riding a tiny kid bike we'd found. E playing with same-aged, new-best-friend "S" from down the street. E2 demonstrating great independence and cuddliness with his Aunt Boo. By the end of the visit, they had grown homesick, and greatly missed their mom. Our oldest, K, drove them home just before Labor Day.
Today's Realities
Again, to protect the innocent, I'll omit some details about what motivated this most recent visit. Suffice to say, the kids returned to MT, but they did not enjoy the kind of stability and safety young ones need to thrive. When Boo learned to what degree their condition had deteriorated, we welcomed them back for another stay. This time, it may last longer. Possibly a lot longer. In E's case, this could be a new long-term reality. It started with a phone call on Wednesday, followed by some deep discussions between Boo and me on Thursday, a car rental on Friday and a there-and-back drive to MT on Saturday and Sunday. A, now 12, did not want to join her brothers and sister, and remained. This may or may not stay the case, however. In the meantime, the MT3 arrived tired with little in terms of belongings. They took to the house like old friends, though, and quickly fell asleep in their designated beds.
What of Tomorrow
What about tomorrow? I don't know. I don't know how long they will be with us, but we are going to operate like this is the new reality. We are re-arranging rooms, adding beds and dressers, digging out old toys, etc. The larger family has really reached out already, and the kids are feeling just for broad their support structure is. For example, we hit my brother's house for his son's birthday party and there were, like, 25 family members there. It was a party of kids putting on skits and plays for each other, eating pizza and making ice cream sundaes. A new future with 3 more kids should scare me. Doing the math, that brings the total to 7. Kids need stability and security. I can't give them DisneyLand. We can't easily give them Oaks Park, but we can take a drive to a little kid birthday party in an old VW bus.
That's it for today. I do want to point out that every one of folks Boo and I talked to before collecting the MT3 were supportive. Not only have they voiced support, we have been asked about hand-me-down delivery times, and given kid-sitting references. It really does take a village to raise a child; it is just incredible watching the village marshal when the child(ren) arrives.
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