Happy Birthday Brooke!!

It is my sister Brooke's birthday! She is MUCH older than me, like by 15 years I think! Okay, maybe not that much older. I can't wait to go visit here this weekend! She lives in Rexberg, Idaho but is soon to move to Idaho Falls, which is closer to her work. Which is kind of sad, I'll miss the Bat Cave that she lives in now. My favorite memory of my sister Brooke is one at Christmas time when she was in high school. I had this Christmas stocking that when you pushed the button it would say "Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!". Well the batteries were dying and so you would get this long drawn out "Hooooo, Hooooo, Hooooo! Merrrrrry Chrrrrrrriiiiiisstmaaaaaas!". Well on Christmas morning, she was sitting back against the wall pulling out presents from the back of the tree when the stocking decided to wish her a Merry Christmas! She came flying out from behind the tree with a panicked, confused look on her face. I still get tears from laughing so hard at the memory! Its the only thing that makes me feel better after I hear her say "Tara is my favorite sister, Tracey is my second favorite and I don't have a third". Happy Birthday Brooke!!

These Quiet Moments..........

I just finished a hair cut on one of the boys in the group home. He got up early this morning in hopes I could cut his hair before I took him to his Mother's funeral. Its been a sad few days. I found out about his mother on Saturday & he was just told yesterday. It is sad to hear of someone ending their own life by their own hands. I've had several conversations with this kid since hearing about his mother. He's laughed, smiled and joked around with me. Its been weird knowing that his whole world is about to change and that its going to be a while before I see him smile, laugh or joke around again. I never expect these things to affect me much, the reality of the situation is that I didn't know her. But for whatever reason, this has really made an impact and I'm not quite sure why. But as I went about cutting his hair and attempted to take his mind off of what the day held for him, I kept going back to how sad it is that this young cute kid, would never be touched by his mother again. He would never be hugged by her again. She'd never ruffle his hair again. And what was even more saddening was the fact that she hadn't done any of these things in months. And again, the reality of the situation is that this was a blessing in disguise for him. And as I had all these thoughts running through my head he asked me if it was alright if he just sat with me until it was time to go. I'm sure I gave him a perplexed look because he followed that up with, its nice to just be able to sit and think around you.
I know when I was offered this position last summer, that it was where I needed to be. I have had no doubt that I was meant to be in this home at this time. This has been one of several quiet moments where I knew this is why I am where I am. That I was meant to help a lost little spirit find a place where they could think.