Back in Illinois

It is 3:58am here in Illinois and I haven't quite adjusted to the time change. Fortunately, the last two nights I've been so exhausted at the end of the day that I've fallen asleep with the kids while putting them to bed. So, while I'm up at 3:00am, which is 11:00am in Ukraine, I'm still getting a decent amount of sleep. Maybe if I keep this up the return trip won't be so bad? Maybe I'm just kidding myself.

Well, we returned on Wednesday after traveling for roughly 24 hours. It was light the entire time we were traveling, so we never really felt tired, which is an odd experience. My Advanced Chemistry students thought that was pretty crazy. Kind of like a Twilight Zone episode or some deep discussion on time travel. Sorry, I got off subject a bit. So, we got into Detroit at 3:00pm on Wednesday and saw that a flight to Peoria was leaving at 4:00pm. We were scheduled to leave at 7:00pm. We raced across the airport (and that crazy light and sound show that goes under the Detroit airport) to see if we could catch the earlier flight. We did, although our luggage didn't. That was fine, since all it contained was our stinky clothes. We will probably wash everything twice before certifying it as clean. We arrived in Peoria at 4:30pm and were in Elmwood by 5:00pm.

The kids thought we were going to be home on Thursday, so getting home before their bed time on Wednesday was a huge surprise. We rang the doorbell and when we heard them coming to the door we ran in through the garage to the kitchen. When nobody was at the door they walked back into the house and THERE'S MOMMY AND DADDY. They were all very excited and hugs and kisses were passed around. Meg's reaction was priceless, as she started laughing/screaming and clapping as she ran to us. Wow, what a great feeling to be home.

Thursday was a pretty normal day. Caleb is not feeling well, and may be qualified as sick, which is a rarity for him, so he stayed home with Anne. Actually, he got to go to a meeting with her, where he quietly watched a movie. Lots of rest and TLC once they got home. Noah, Meg and I went through the normal routine of going to Sherry's and school. Other than lots of questions about the trip, which everyone seemed genuinely interested in, it was a normal day. I did give my kids lots of hugs and told them I love them more than usual. Perhaps that should become the norm rather than the exception...

I cried a bit at school today. At the end of the day an informational meeting for students wishing to help with Special Olympics was held in the auditorium. Karen Broadway planted a seed about Special Olympics and Tori Scotti ran with it. I am very, very proud of Tori for the lead she has taken on this and for her big heart. I didn't know about the meeting and hadn't planned on attending it when I got a call over the intercom asking me to come down. I walked into the auditorium to see forty or so students listening to the presentation. Karen asked me quietly if I would say something to the group at the end. I kept looking around the room, amazed at the wonderful and caring kids in our school and community, and kept getting choked up. I really didn't think I would be able to say anything. When it was my chance I was able to speak about the "end the R-word" campaign, which some of the students already knew about through class discussions in both my room and Karen's. I spoke a bit about how people with intellectual disabilities were shunned in our country not too long ago, using and example that Anne's father tells from the group home he works in. When I tried to tie that into the experience we've had with Meg, well, I pretty much had to sit down.

I need to say how incredibly proud and humbled I was to see all of those student in that auditorium today. My goal of getting the football team involved with Easter Seals was to open our young men's eyes to a population of people that they may not have otherwise noticed, considered, or more importantly stood up for. Karen and I have been speaking with some of our classes about how ugly the word "retarded" is and how its use is poisonous and hurtful. She and I have talked about the impact of changing just one person's perspective (and vocabulary) can change the world. Today I saw a group of young people, a rather significant portion of our student body, who are taking steps to change the world. In the book Season of LifeJoe Ehrmann talks about the need for people to "Show up. Stand up. Speak up. Start changing the world." I am confident that our school and community will be changing thanks to the young people in that auditorium today.

I will leave you, at the end of this very long blog entry, with some of the feelings I am having since being away from Alina. While in Ukraine I was able to focus pretty singularly on the task at hand. I think that is a benefit of being a guy. I missed the kids, especially when we Skyped them, but for the most part my mind was on Alina and our daily living. Since being home, though, I have to admit that I am having a hard time. There are supposed to be four children here and there are not. I notice this all the time and keep thinking about Alina. Tuesday will not get here soon enough. Not that I won't miss Noah, Caleb, Meg and Anne. I will. But, I just NEED to go get my daughter. I joke that people don't want to mess with our kids and wake up Anne's "Mama Bear." Being home without Alina has woken up my "Papa Bear" and I really need to go get her. So, I will stuff as much play and love in as possible over the next four days. But when I get on the bus on Tuesday morning I will certainly be focused on the task at hand, and that is to bring home my daughter.