Here and Gone

We briefly had a brother and sister ages 12 and 5 with us. It was only for two days but they instantly fit in and started bonding with our family. Danya and the boy tried to play checkers at the library with no idea of the actual rules, so after I taught them how to play I decided to call him "Checkers". The little girl I called "Rugrat". She had a rough couple of nights, but we spent lots of time snuggling and rocking until she was able to sleep.

When we were surprised by a call to have them packed and ready to go so soon after they arrived things got a bit crazy. Rugrat freaked out at the DCFS building when they separated her from her big brother to be sent to different family members' homes. The caseworker called me because they were afraid she would injure herself, so I yelled down the stairs to the kids that we had to go rescue "Rugrat" and we all rushed off to help her. She calmed down when she saw me and all the kids welcomed her into the van. She was exhausted but calm when we delivered her to her aunt's home. That was a first for us. We've never transported kids to a new home, only ever back to their parents as they transitioned home. It was interesting seeing them meet.