an update, 6 years in the making

Remember when I used this thing? HA! Life has a way of taking over, doesn’t it?  Things have certainly been a whirlwind for me as of late.

So take a journey with me if you will, through the last six years.

Josh and I were living in Kansas and through a long and winding road of turns, we landed with Boys Town in Las Vegas and became Family Teachers (read: house parents to six “at risk” teenage girls). After a year-and-a-half we transferred to the main site in Omaha, Nebraska. In a community of over 60 homes filled with kids ages 10-18, we signed up for the home with some of the highest behaviors. Kids attempting to jump out of windows? Check. Being physically assaulted? Check. Drugs in the house? Check. (I think you get the idea). After a total of five years, we cared for over 50 boys and girls between the ages 10-19. It was the ride of a lifetime and when it came time to settle down and have a more “normal” life (like spending Christmas with our own families, or doing laundry whenever we want, just to name a few) we absolutely wanted to stay with Boys Town, because their mission to put children and families first had become our mission, too.

So we moved. Again. This time to California, where Josh took a position consulting people doing the same thing we were just doing, and I started working with an exciting newer program with parent mentors. When Thanksgiving rolled around and one of the kid homes was short staffed, Josh and I volunteered to cook thanksgiving dinner and spend the day there. And then when Christmas rolled around and they still needed staff, we cancelled our vacation so the kids had someone to spend the holidays with. In fact, I actually quit my job for a month to move in. (I mean my boss was awesome and super supportive and let me take it off, so it wasn’t quite as dramatic as all that, but it makes a better story, right?) Oh yeah, and then I had my third miscarriage, because let’s not forget that we have been struggling with infertility through all of this. But fast-forward to present day and things are going great! I mean not on the baby front (still no movement there. Literally.) but after 14 months in California we’ve really hit our stride. Things have calmed down (IE: no more cancelled vacations) and I just got a promotion! Girl boss for the win!!

And then Monday they called an all-staff meeting and announced that they are shutting the entire site down.

Yeah.

 Are you shocked? I hope you’re shocked, because all 108ish of us certainly were. We found ourselves sitting in a room full of people, coworkers, friends, and even spouses, and we were all out of a job in 60 days.

Of course our first move was to weigh our options (that is, after the anger faded enough to stop seeing red) and we realized that we’ve got a few good options, but none of them include living in California.

But we couldn’t stop thinking about these kids. Four of them in particular. There is a sibling set of four kids who will probably be split up. No, they will definitely be split up, because there is no place for them to go, let alone a place they can go and stay together.

Yeah.

Are you heart-broken? Because we are.

So we decided to throw out all our best and easiest (and even more career-advancing) options out the window and throw all our energy into taking them. All of them. All together.

We have no idea if this will work, we literally have 40 days to: get licensed as foster parents, get out of our (expensive) lease, find a new place to live, furnish said place to live, get a van, and get at least one good full-time job………and then try to raise these kids.  

I'll definitely keep you posted.

community gardens

Part of my job now, one of my favorite parts, is just interacting with the community. Going out and providing a place for families to interact with one another. Today I joined some members of a community garden to provide a Family Day for the neighborhood residents. All with their charming garden serving as the backdrop.

So charming right?! It even came complete with a mini lending library (not to mention all the bags of books and games given away to the neighborhood kids).

There was music, games, storytelling, BBQing, a salsa competition and a juicing station. Let me tell you. That juice was blowing my mind. The table was full of fresh fruits and veggies, being squeezed on the spot by Gary (who is not someone I knew before, but juice brought us together today). Amazing. I'm like halfway out the door to go buy a blender and fancy juicer and live on a liquid diet for the rest of my life. The combinations! The flavors! The fiber! Ok the last one sounds really lame, but seriously. My mind is running with this idea. And obviously I'm way behind the curve here. I mean "juicing" has been a thing for forever now, but I just was never in on it. This guy was throwing in whatever all willy-nilly and it was all good. My favorite combo? Fresh carrot and apple juice, with some pineapple, mango and banana thrown in. And a beet. Or as the juice man himself was calling it- a "color bomb". The kids especially were loving that one! I didn't even get photographic evidence. I drank it too fast. And also it's not like it looks so amazing. You would see it and think "yeah, looks like Jamba Juice" but you would be oh-so underestimating the flavor.

Anyway, the rest of the event was really wonderful as well. I even got lucky and brought some garden-grown cucumbers home. It wasn't long before hubs and I had them infusing our water for a much needed refresher on this hot day.