I'll preface this with saying have you ever had a person come into your life and in a short time, maybe a day, a week, a month, you didn't want to think about what your days would be like without them. The person (people) that once the connection is there, it takes little work to maintain... this is how it has been for me with the last group of girls that have come to live with me. Elena asked me the other day regarding our time downtown, "do you do this with all the girls that live with you?" and I had to answer no. I don't. For me, a "connection" with people is such a unique and beautiful thing... something that cannot be manufactured. And it either happens or it doesn't. I am lucky to have found this with a few people in my life, namely my best friend Melissa. But when these girls came, foreign to this country and to me, they were fast friends. People that I wanted to be involved in their lives not only while they stayed here in America but also when they went back to their countries. I try not to think of the day when they go back but when I do I know how much they will be sorely missed. Here are a few pictures of our time downtown and then the continuance of my life story...
I came home from a very busy second workday to find that my precious Olha needed to talk to me. We sat out on the bottom deck and she told me that she had to leave sooner than planned. There were some problems which I don't want to discuss here but it was necessary for her to move out within days and I was the one to take her to the airport. We sat there with one of the other girls and cried and hugged knowing that we had so many plans together in the short time and now our sweet, talkative Olha would be missing out. She is a unique part of my home. Bubbly (but not annoyingly so), talks SO much but at the same time her voice is so soothing I want to close my eyes and take a nap, she's so funny and many times is laughing without a reason but mostly she is a friend. We knew that the next two days would be important, spending as much time together as possible which was a problem for me because this was a crazy week at work for me.
Wednesday night I arrived home from work at about 745PM. Olha and I spent some time talking together, looking at pictures of our time downtown and then it got all too emotional and I retreated to my room. I think I lay awake for hours just thinking as I kind of watched the tv. We had made a plan to go to Melissa's house the next night and swim, relax in the jacuzzi and eat sushi - not quite in that order... that would be our last night with Olha.
Thursday came and was another busy day at work for me. My friend the IT guy was down here this week setting up our server and I was basically his bodyguard keeping away all the annoying questioners like "can I print" and "why is my computer not working" (duh, plug it in)... In four days, two of which the boss was out of the office, I had so much going on and then I was to get what I call a blind feel for what was going on in his department because as my boss just put it yesterday, I'm "kind of in charge of security".. haha. Anyway, now we're up to Thursday night.
I got home from work around 7ish to four beautiful faces and said "you ready to go?" They jumped up, got their eensy bitty bikinis (beeotches) and piled into my car (along with Polly my doggy). We picked up some grub and headed over to the madhouse I like to call Mel's. The girls talked to the boys a little, were awestruck by the house (seriously, it's like out of a movie) and then came the lure of the pool. They stripped off their clothes (again, beeotches) and jumped in. Of course they are all perfect but I'm kidding kinda about the "b" comment. I really didn't care that night. We were all having so much fun playing water v-ball, jacuzzi sitting and eating on the deck... such a good time. We left about 11ish. All of my girls asked me at least once "Tina, can we do this again"... Aaaaah, I love them! It was time to go to bed, knowing that at 5am Friday, Olha and I had to leave the house.
Friday morning - I swear I didn't hear my alarm but I'm notorious for shutting it off in my sleep. I awoke to Olha's voice at 5:15. I threw on my clothes for work, brushed the teeth and maybe my hair and then we were off. The drive was quiet, each of us so drained because of our week and also the time. It seemed like the drive was too short. I wish I had more time with her. Finally, we arrived and it was time to say our goodbyes. I told her that if there was anything I could do for her to call me, never hesitate. F'fwd to mid Friday morning - I noticed there was a voicemail on my cell phone. It was OLHA! Something about a phone call, things were resolved and most importantly she could stay!! She also asked me if I could come pick her up but didn't leave a contact number! Of course I was gonna go get her but had no way of assuring her that I would. I called my boss to let him know that I needed to leave a little earlier and then feverishly finished up the 'necessary' to try and get the heck out of there. In the meantime, I noticed ANOTHER freakin' voicemail.. from Olha! Oh good God, now I'm about to have a heart attack. And why isn't she calling my TOLL FREE work number. No contact number again. Finally it's 2ish and I'm ready to leave... only to find a 20 mile back up on I-95. Nice. It took me 2.5 hours to get to her but get to her I did. The drive back was tearful (more on her end because seriously I think I've dried out the ducts). We stopped at the Crackpot (seafood) , bought a few movies from Target (Firewall, United 93, Rumor Has It) and then headed home. We arrived to shock Elena who was the only one home at the time. Hugs, explanations, and then we flopped on the couches, ate some food and watched Rumor Has It. I still couldn't (and can't) believe she was with us. She calls herself lucky.. because these kinds of things happen all the time to her. And because I have a little more time with her, I call myself blessed.
2 comments:
Wow! Glad it all worked out bit OMG! I'd love to know what you do that you always have these foreign exchange students with you. Have a blast and enjoy every moment. Sounds like you definitely have a good life long friend regardless of the country each of you lives in.
Hit send too fast...Love the pictures, looks like you had a ton of fun!
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