Update on My Update

Sometimes we have to eat our words. It happens. In my last post I said I wasn't giving up, and no one was moving out. Hmmm. Not quite true. After a very difficult week, lots of soul searching and discussions with my mentor and manager, Linda, we made the difficult but necessary decision to move the two new children to a different home. There are no perfect answers here, and as much as I would like to take on every challenge, I really came face to face with my limitations. Not speaking Chinese being one of them. Having a very full plate of responsibilities that extends outside my own house is another. The irony is that while I feel like I am failing these kids, in some ways I know they are happier. There are definitely fewer rules and expectations in their new house, and best of all for them the staff is all Chinese speaking so they will not feel as confused and frustrated as I am sure they did here. It isn't perfect, but none of the options are, so this is the best for everyone right now. They are still my responsibility, just not under my immediate care.

You could pretty much hear my six kids all exhale at once. The dynamics in our house quickly returned to normal: happy, chatty, fun, occasionally (NOT perpetually) a little noisy. Interestingly, although the Laurie girls were not too happy with the change brought by the new arrivals, they were doing their best to be helpful and flexible. It wasn't easy, but their world wasn't shaken. It was the other three, my three Eagles Wings kids, who really had a hard time.  In hindsight I understand this, they were just beginning to really feel like a family, to have a life that my kids take for granted and it felt like that was being taken away.

My mistake. I won't make that one again. I am pretty sure there will be others though. :)