Good cheesecake and good friends...

One of the many blessings of being "stuck" here has been the unforgettable friendships that have come about because of our similar situations. The tricky part of these friendships is that the time spent together is short-lived and you're actually happy about it. I can remember every single moment when one of my friends has told me that they were out of PGN. There's something powerful about hearing that news for someone. These are the people that when I get a previo, they hate it for me. It's their worst fear in their own life. All of them love my son and have been the ones to witness most of his firsts w/ me. It's hard to see them leave as each of them have a special place in my heart, as do their children.

To look at it from the States, you'd think it's an odd combination of people. We've often joked that many of us might not have become friends if we were in the states. There's people from all over the US and even from European countries. While many of us don't have a great deal in common, there's a very strong common thread. None of us could wait another day w/o our children. There are people from all age groups, all walks of life. Some married, some single. Some stretching every dollar to make it work, some who showed up paid in full. It doesn't quite matter what the story was to get here, we all love and support each other. When you see some "gringo" tooling through town pushing a big jogging stroller w/ a little brown head popping out, you already know you'll be friends.

I'm more than thankful for this community. These crazy people get every aspect of the process, all the lingo, all the frustrations, all the joys. They all miss home, too. For now, they are my family away from home. I couldn't be more excited for them to join their "real" family and friends. The sadness of seeing them go actually enriches my experience as I fully understand what leaving means.

My friend Nikki is leaving this weekend and I wish her and Gabby all the best. By far, they have been one of the highlights of my time here and I'm so excited that they finally get to go home. I will miss meeting them for coffee and cheesecake and hearing Nikki's stories. They are blessed to have each other and are such a perfect fit. My friend Shelly left last weekend after living here since September. There's been a few times this week that I've gone to dial her number and realized that I need to delete her name from my Guatemalan phone. I'm excited for her and her beautiful daughter Ana. She has brought me so much hope that this will happen for us one day, too.

All in all, I'm blessed to know these women and their children and to be a part of the journey they took to find them.