Friday, July 29, 2011

Our final Thursday and Friday...

It's been pretty low-key around here the last 2 days.
Vladik has had a few bouts of moodiness--- which considering he flies home on Monday... it's to be expected.

There have been a lot of neat moments during his time here.
But I think my favorite occurred last night.
Rick was changing the oil in his truck and rotating the tires... and he had Vladik help.

The two of them were a little slow to warm up to each other... in part because Rick was so busy in the fields for the first 3 weeks of Vladik's stay; but it was really neat to see this bit of bonding between them.
I don't know if Vladik will ever need the skills/words Rick was teaching him... lug nuts, in which direction to rotate the tires, how to measure the tread depth, using the star pattern, etc. But whether or not he uses or remembers it, isn't really the point.
It was a moment. 30 minutes of "guy time" doing "guy things."

It was neat to see.

What is it with men and power tools, anyway? Is it testosterone driven?

I have pretty much everything we need to send home with Vladik- short of a winter coat. I called Goodwill this afternoon to see if they had their winter stuff out yet, and they DO have some. So we'll be making a quick trip to town tomorrow to see if we can find anything useful.

I've had some wonderful friends donate items for Vladik's return trip: a suitcase, a backpack, activity books, etc.  I am so thankful for their support and willingness to help!

After we get back from Goodwill (with or without a coat), we'll start packing. It may seem a little premature, but I need to see what kind of room he's going to have to figure out what he can or can't take home with him. There's a weight limit to consider as well, so I'll have to nix most of the books, etc., I had originally thought about sending home.

We have just the weekend left- and that's it.

We have to be in Detroit at 1pm on Monday.

The time has gone unbelievably fast- and even though we're not adopting, I hope we've given Vladik a glimpse of how things *could* be... the idea of something different than what he's known. Certainly not the family dynamics seen on TV... we're neither the Cleavers, the Simpsons nor the Bundys; but I hope he's felt loved...
I hope he's felt wanted...
I hope he's felt safe...
I hope he's felt included...
and whether or not he understands it, I hope he's seen the difference Christ can make in the life of an individual, and in the life of a family.




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