Shallow venting + news from my boys
It's gonna be 37 degrees out here in the corn tonight, with patchy frost. ACK! Patchy frost!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!
I'm writing this from under flannel sheets and a comforter. Meanwhile, it's in the mid 80's in Guayaquil. How long until I go back?
I'm such a wuss when it comes to the cold.
In happy news, I heard from three of my boys yesterday. My godson is back on email, YAY! He's doing well, and has a new job . He split up with his...for lack of a better word, babymomma, while I was still in Guayaquil, which I have mixed feelings about. They were going to get married, and for his sake, I almost wish they had, but...in a nutshell, it's probably good for his babymomma that they split up, but not so great for him. She was really good for him, but is significantly older, and he's got more growing up to do. He's come such a long way and been through so much that sometimes I forget that he's still growing. The good news is, it sounds like he's still taking a pretty active role in his daughter's life, which I was concerned about. Anyhow, please send warm thoughts/prayers in their general direction.
I also got IM'ed by 2 former shelter kids, one of them was a total surprise. He's been learning computers, and got my email from my roommate so we started chatting. He's just a really special guy. It feels weird to admit it, but I'll be honest - working in this program, there are kids that tear your heart out on a regular basis, and then there are kids that when everything else is crazy, you can kind of look at and think, "Yeah, if we can make a difference for someone like that, it's all worth it." You love them all, but there's something about that second group that helps you keep going. So this kid? Definitely in that second group. Sweet, a bit shy, really responsible and hardworking. And just hearing from him made my day.
Random thought - I really do need to stop calling them kids. The guys I'm writing about are all over 18. I was talking to some undergraduate students last week about 'my kids' and realized that the students I was talking to were younger than my 'kids'. But I think when I'm 70 and my oldest boys are in their 60's...they'll still be kids to me.
I'm writing this from under flannel sheets and a comforter. Meanwhile, it's in the mid 80's in Guayaquil. How long until I go back?
I'm such a wuss when it comes to the cold.
In happy news, I heard from three of my boys yesterday. My godson is back on email, YAY! He's doing well, and has a new job . He split up with his...for lack of a better word, babymomma, while I was still in Guayaquil, which I have mixed feelings about. They were going to get married, and for his sake, I almost wish they had, but...in a nutshell, it's probably good for his babymomma that they split up, but not so great for him. She was really good for him, but is significantly older, and he's got more growing up to do. He's come such a long way and been through so much that sometimes I forget that he's still growing. The good news is, it sounds like he's still taking a pretty active role in his daughter's life, which I was concerned about. Anyhow, please send warm thoughts/prayers in their general direction.
I also got IM'ed by 2 former shelter kids, one of them was a total surprise. He's been learning computers, and got my email from my roommate so we started chatting. He's just a really special guy. It feels weird to admit it, but I'll be honest - working in this program, there are kids that tear your heart out on a regular basis, and then there are kids that when everything else is crazy, you can kind of look at and think, "Yeah, if we can make a difference for someone like that, it's all worth it." You love them all, but there's something about that second group that helps you keep going. So this kid? Definitely in that second group. Sweet, a bit shy, really responsible and hardworking. And just hearing from him made my day.
Random thought - I really do need to stop calling them kids. The guys I'm writing about are all over 18. I was talking to some undergraduate students last week about 'my kids' and realized that the students I was talking to were younger than my 'kids'. But I think when I'm 70 and my oldest boys are in their 60's...they'll still be kids to me.