Never Enough Time

Here we go again...2 months have passed. I cannot recall everything but it was certainly busy. There was a lot of very normal homelife. ie: Katie and Florence having a quiet evening at home.

I lie. That never happened. 

 

This was more common. 

"She won't give me the remote" 

"She's been on the computer all night"

"I was going to take my shower and she's in there" 

"If you eat allof that ice cream it will make you a fatty"

"STOP"

"AAAAAGH" 

"Why is she wearing my dress"

Florence fit it quite well with our family. As time went on we became more comfortable with each other. We really were more like a family. Every Friday night was spent at a football game. Florence said it was like watching "Friday Night Lights".

Katie, Bree and Abbey

Tumwater High School Football

Florence and I never missed a game.

 We did some site seeing in Seattle. A ride to the top of the Space Needle.

 

Take the monorail to downtown Seattle for some Christmas shopping and people watching. Ice skating at the local rink . 

Shopping ...Shopping...Shopping.

Forever 21 became a wardrobe staple. 

We shopped at the Bellvue Square where they have Snowflake lane during the holidays. It was magical. At 7pm a parade of drummers and sugar plums and snowmen and elfs march down the sidewalk and the drummers take their places and music drumming and candy being handed out goes on for the next half hour. Snowflakes magically appear from the sides of the buildings and fall on us all. So pretty. It was really beautiful. 

In the midst of all of this of course is school and keeping Florence entertained while Katie has cheer practice, cheer dinners and socializing with friends. 

Florence made friends but never became close until the very last week of school. 

One of my biggest struggles was getting Florence away from reality TV and Facebook. Facebook was her connection to her social life in Belgium...with out her. Really made her depressed at times. Some of the trashiest reality TV shows were constantly trying to be watched. It became a struggle between us. I had to resort to "I need to call your mother and see if she would approve of you watching these shows" "Oh no she would never let me watch these. It's no big deal" "Not on my TV...change it". I often forgot that Florence is 18 years old. She lives a very different lifestyle in Belgium. She is used to having nannies, housekeepers and gardeners. Mother and Father are both Professors at the University and so Florence didn't really have to do anything for herself. She had lots of others to do it for her. So here she had to be reminded as Katie did too, to pickup her stuff, put away your dishes, clean the bathroom, change your sheets, do your laundry. 

I told her I was preparing her for College.

Football seemed to never end. This team could not lose. They went into the State playoffs and games went all the way into December!

So, here is Katie with her squad at the Tacoma Dome for the State Championship. It was so exciting and I was so happy for these girls to experience this moment.

  

And here is the 2010

Washington State 

2A High School Football 

Champions!!!

 What a great time that was. Glad it is over though because Basketball started right at the time of playoffs. Whew. I need to be younger for all of this.

 We finally headed out to cut down our Christmas tree the second weekend of December.

We decorated the tree, baked cookies and breads and more cookies and chexmix. We ate alot and sang Christmas songs and drove 2.5 hours to find the perfect hill for sledding. It was so much fun. 

Then Christmas was here and over and on the 27th it was time for Florence to go home to Belgium. It was bittersweet. We all cried and promised to keep in touch. 

Today we called her and she made it safely home and sounds ecstatic. I am so happy for her. 

Being an exchange student requires alot of emotional strength. You are forced into an uncomfortable, unfamiliar situation with a foreign language thrown in. You have to think about every word that people are saying to you and respond not in your native language. Family and friends are far away and you must be pleasant. I feel for the students who are here for a year. I would not have been able to do this at the age of 17 as most of the exchange students are. 

During this whole time we managed. We managed schedules, we managed food, homework, grades, emotions. We managed to make it to today. Mike has been unemployed the entire time and I worked but reduced hours. Life goes on no matter your situation. I found strength in the words of others and by being grateful for everything in my life. My family, my health, my friends and all who surround me.  I am so blessed. 

What a great experience this has been. 

Would I do this again? Probably not since Katie is getting ready for college and it wouldn't be fair to have a teenager here so far from town without another teen to relate too.  

I highly recommend it to others though. 

This has all distracted me from much bigger issues in life like the health of my family far away. I feared loss of my family because of their health. I cannot stop what is happening. I can only comfort. I cry from my broken heart but it is for my loss. I now must be strong and less selfish and be their for them when they need me to hold them up. I will do my best but I cannot promise. I will be sad for losing them but I know that there is a circle that must be completed and we cannot stop it. 

Every day must be lived in this very moment. 

And so I do.