Bolivin' With Collin

Para ti: (for you)   How? How am I only here 2 more days. This whole year, my mind has been constantly thinking about what I will do with the kids tomorrow, next week, or in a month. Now…there is no next month or even next week. There is only tomorrow. Soon, there will only be “goodbye.” I have no idea how I will handle saying bye to my boys. I have experienced so much life with them that they are basically a part of my family. Therefore, the reality of leaving now carries some very strange feelings. Impact: I am currently in the process of packing…a process that I expected to take about 4 or 5 days...it only took 4 hours. I am completely done packing. Not because it was easy, but because the boys wanted so much of my stuff. The majority of my items are completely useless to me now. My clothes are all worn down, discolored and full of little holes. My sheets show a discolored mark of bleach and wear of where I have rested every night of this past year. The toys definitely don’t

Check Off…Not Out 3 more weeks. For the past few months, there has been a mental clock ticking minute by minute until April 24 at 3:30am…the time marking when my travel day back to the United States begins. There’s a problem though…I really don’t like this clock, yet I am excited for the alarm to ring. Every moment with these kids is just a little closer to not being with them. I find myself so happy when I have the chance to truly have a conversation with those around me and to have fun with them. Yet these fun times now remind me of just how difficult the same tasks were just 6 months ago. It has made me realize how things like simply having a conversation with our kids used to be nearly impossible. One of my favorite things to do these days is sit with my guys and say, “cuentame una historia de tu vida.” (tell me a story from your life) This practice has been a lot of fun for me, and for them. Most of the time, the stories end up being completely made up. Sometimes, they tell me