Yesterday
was Kota's first day at his new babysitter. I worked until 5 so from
2:30 until 5 my thoughts were on him. He can be shy around new people
and I worried he would distance himself from the other kids and
adults. I saw Jake during the day and he reassured me that Kota would
have a blast and that they would not let him be shy. Kota has met the
mom and of course John, Jake's brother. But he hadn't met Katie, the
sister who would watch him nor any of the kids.

When I
pulled up to their house Jake's mom was standing at the door watching
for me. I immediately thought, did something happen? I walked in and
here is the whole family. Intimidating to someone shy like me. Then I
thought, wait a minute. I know John and his mom Dot. They are all
very nice! Apparently Kota has a fan club there. Two little girls who
follow his every move. They are younger than him and Kota adores
them. I know he had a great time because he was all sweaty when I got
there. LOL They played outside most of the time, football and chasing
each other. There are older boys there too. I believe all the kids
are nieces and nephews of John and Jake. So I kind of feel
privileged, like we are now part of their family. Katie introduced
herself to me and told me the only thing she wanted to tell me was
that Kota was shy about asking for a drink. I am sure that will wear
off soon and he will soon think of it as his second home. He
absolutely loved it there. He got all of his homework done, had a
snack and got to play with a bunch of kids. He is a little mad that I
am off today and does not get to go over there this afternoon.

I have
talked about how John and Jake are both very nice young men, very
caring and respectful but also fun loving. The whole family is that
way! It is a huge relief to me as a mom to have Kota going there now.
I know he is being watched over while still having a great time. I am
a little jealous of this family. They are all very close, they all
watch out for each other. I am sure they have their disagreements but
I have never heard either John or Jake say anything bad about their
siblings. While it is true you can't pick your family, I would
certainly pick this group if I could. At least now I feel like I have
a whole circle of friends, a very diverse group I might add.

I would
like to ask for prayers and good thoughts for someone I know. She was
a door greeter at Walmart. Annette has had brain tumors all of her
short life, she is only in her 20's. A few weeks ago she had told me
her headaches were coming back and she was dreading it, knowing it
would mean more surgery. Yesterday her mom brought her in to the
store. Annette is in a wheelchair. She had chemo and it perforated
her bowels. She will not be returning to work. She looked incredibly
sad and shaken up. My heart goes out to this wonderful young woman.
When she was a door greeter she always had a pocketful of cool
stickers to hand out to all the children. And all the kids loved her.
I will miss seeing her every day, I was just getting to know her. I
hope that she can recover fully from this latest episode.