Being Thankful

I know, I know.  I sound all Pollyanna for writing this and some people may be sick of my waxing on about peace and love and generosity but F-You.  I'm grateful.

I'm grateful for this opportunity to love a whole bunch of difficult kids.

I'm grateful to get through every day without screaming, dissolving into tears or turning on my own family.

I'm grateful to my friends who surrounded us at an outdoor concert this week, gave us hugs and were just there.

I'm grateful to my daughter, who my mother referred to as the "Latvian Summer Camp Director."

And I'm grateful to my son Casey who is rolling with this chaos during the day, even as he crawls into bed with us at night.

Last, I'm grateful to Kevin.  Taking on three Latvian orphans was neither his idea nor his preference but he's done it two summers in a row now.  He hugs those kids every day.  He makes them meals and reassures Tomass that he will be back every day when Tomass panics, looks at me and asks, "Dadi darbu?"

Is Dadi going to work?

Thank you to everyone supporting us through this summer.  Your presence in our lives, a joke here and there, a shared meal or a kind word of encouragement are more important than you could ever know.