Staff Blog

Part of the Family

Three weeks ago I had my first moment of feeling sad about leaving. For awhile I’ve wanted to make a video on my digital camera of my homestead. It’s a bit more real than pictures, and I thought it would be nice to be able to show to people at home.  Three weeks ago on Sunday I finally did it. I had been feeling sick all weekend and still wasn’t a hundred percent so I wasn’t sure if it was the time, but it was a beautiful afternoon and my family was home, so I pulled myself together.  Before I started I told my host mom what I was doing and that I wanted her to say hello to the camera for my family and friends.  She laughed and said ok.  I started filming, showing some of the homestead, and then I came over to her. “This is my beautiful mother,” I said. “And this is my baby girl,” she said. “She’s stayed with me for two months and now she is leaving and there is pain in my heart.”  She said how much she’ll miss me and how much she appreciates all I do around the house to help her.  Then she said, “She came to be with my family,” but corrected herself, “She is part of my family now.”