I take in stray kids. It’s what I do. When I say I have 6 1/2 kids, the 1/2 child is the stray currently living here part time. I’ve always done this. I assume I will always do this. Luckily, TW is understanding and a stray kid collector too.
Tonight I’m suppose to be writing a challenge or finishing a report or writing a Blogher post but none of those are happening because I’m thinking about a stray kid from long ago. We lost track of her along the way and she’s resurfaced today.
Aud "lived with us" when we were in Panama. She didn’t REALLY live with us, but she may as well have. Her mom was in the Air Force and no dad had been in her life for a very long time. Her mom worked the odd hours expected of those in the AF and she was a single woman who wanted a social life, too. So she was busy. And I was a mom. And Jenn (the oldest of the brood) was Aud’s best friend. It made sense for Aud to live with us five days a week. Well mostly it made sense. Sometimes Jenn was jealous because Michelle adored Aud. Sometimes Jenn was jealous because she thought I gave Aud special favors or attention that she didn’t get. Sometimes Jenn just wanted some time to herself, without Aud. But mostly it made sense.
Aud and her mom headed for Germany while we headed for NJ. We saw her again the next summer, she came to stay with us but left early because Jenn had moved on and she felt left out of the crowd. Mostly I think she left because she had turned a corner in her life and the path she had chosen wasn’t Jenn’s.
We lost track of her again for few more years and then out of the blue she called to say mom had kicked her out, she was going to join the Army and don’t worry, she’d keep in touch. Then she vanished again. Until today. Thank you My Space.
Jenn and Michelle tracked her down over Christmas but didn’t tell me in case she didn’t want to be contacted. She and Jenn have been emailing and calling each other for a few days and Jenn called to tell me tonight.
Apparently after her mom kicked her out, there was more trouble. Trouble that involves probation and a record and newspaper clippings about "incidents". Jenn told me where to find the whole story on My Space but you know me, I have "Denise Rules" about such things so I didn’t look. I looked at her photos and smiled and sent her a message asking her to add me to her friends list. If she wants me to read her blog, she’ll tell me herself. Until then, I’ll just sit here and look at the old photos and wonder if things would have been different if we’d kept her with us. Probably not. But I still wonder. And I know I would never have kicked her out when she was 16, not for any reason.
Aud, Steph, Jenn – B.F.F.
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