Ten months ago a leap of faith granted me one of my early teenage wishes:
I became a mother of my fourth boy! The arrival of our new 'son' had more to do with an ad on our letter boxes than the careless, random act of natural desire! (After three boys we didn't want to push our luck anymore- and do I need to tell you, I am not getting any younger)!
Our fourth boy was delivered to us courtesy of the flourishing Korean Exchange Student Program.
This boy needed a roof over his head - and without much thought we jumped right into our newest adventure in our new country. We have the roof, the space plus three other boys who shared our enthusiasm!
What started off with excitement, ended up with a sigh of relief. At least on my part that is.
A few days ago we waved good- bye to our home stay, Joey; he is back into the arms of his real parents and our family is back to life as we know it.
Do I miss him? It would be a lie if I said yes. Do the boys miss him? I don't think so.
It is so nice to be in command of my own crew again after
- 10 months of constant reminding (we don't eat in the men den),
- asking (pick up your dirty towels),
- refilling our pantry (this boy loves to eat; especially sweets, cookies and KIMCHI noodles),
- yelling (due to his ear phones on full blast),
- being angry (the computer is for all of you),
- being pissed off (midnight showers, lasting for over 30 minutes),
- being worried (forgot to tell me he went out with his Korean friends for the day)
- shop till I drop (sorry, I already told you, this boy eats for three) and last not least, - being really nonchalance about him (after I realised he prefers the company of his electronic devices more than ours).
Not to mention, our boys don't slurp during dinner time; nor do they eat with their mouths open - that must be a cultural thing from Korea.
There is also less pressure to cook something grand every night. Joey's parents paid us to feed their son and I took it as my challenge to create a varied menu for all of us. Cooking healthy is one thing, cooking varied is another. I am no Masterchef; cooking for me is a chore, not a pleasure!
Today on the other hand, I can send my own boys to bed with a tummy full of baked beans on toast.
We went from quintet to sextet - only to get back to quintet again.
Yes, it is good to be our own family again!
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