A Natural Family

It is 11:00 p.m. (my normal bedtime) and I am just getting back from going out on a crisis call for work. I went to see a 9 year old boy at his new foster placement. He has been there for almost two months. Although this is his first placement, his life has been challenging for a long time. His mother died from complications related to drug abuse, and his father is unknown. His grandfather, who he was living with, has gotten ill and can no longer care for him. This boy has significant behavior issues (as you might guess) and his foster parents have been stretched to the point of collapse. It is on nights like tonight that I find a little glimmer of hope in what I do. Nights like tonight force me to remember that sometimes it is just a little human contact that can get people through situations that they never thought they would be able to survive. Even though, by the time I arrived, this child was ready for bed and no longer in crisis, I'd like to think it is possible that because I came to their house, this placement can be preserved a little bit longer, the foster parents will be a little bit stronger, and I can have a little more faith in the goodness of people.

In other news: Greek Orthodox Easter= Pretty Darn Cool. J has been out of town in Iowa all weekend (since Thursday) and so both Friday and Saturday nights I stayed with my friend M's family. She and her husband have two kids that I LOVE. They are Greek and today was Easter for them. Friday and Saturday were spent preparing for the big party. Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. we piled in their van and drove to the Greek Orthodox Church which was packed. I mean... we literally parked half a mile or so away. (I had no idea there were so many Greek people that lived around here...) Everyone had candles (supposedly the flame came from Jerusalem), and the priest said somethings in Greek that I couldn't understand. The choir sang. And a little after midnight, the church bells began ringing and there were fireworks! It was beautiful. Then all the members of the church took their candles (still it) home to spread the light of the resurrection. Back at home, we ate traditional Easter soup made with egg, lemon, greens, dill, and chicken livers. It was actually pretty tasty. (I'm not really a liver girl.) Today, they cooked a lamb in their backyard. Yes, they bought a mechanical spit situation and roasted and entire lamb (head attached) in the backyard. 50 or so people came over. TONS OF FOOD. (Yes, gramma... greek salad, lemon potatoes, spinich pie, spiropita, tzasiki...) I felt pretty special to be there. Too bad J missed out... :)