The Slacker is Back....

The Slacker Is Back

Geez.....over 6 weeks since I last posted.  Its not that things haven't been funny, but they have been sort of routine?

The boy has now been here 4 months and we found out he leaves on June 29th.  It is a date I can not even put into my thought process.  When I don't like days, I remove them from my calendar.  For many years I only had about 360 days a year :]   I have finally added a few back in, but now the 29th is banished.

I think we have just been partying and celebrating since Thanksgiving.  I really have no idea how any other exchange family could have more fun than us!

Thanksgiving......
We go BIG for Thanksgiving, this year, we entertained 39 people, and for the first time, I was able to sit with my guests and actually eat a meal from a plate instead of grabbing, running and shoving in my face.  The fried turkeys came into the house and out of nowhere, the boy is standing at the turkey ready with knife and fork.   My uncle managed to get the legs pulled off and the boy began cutting the meat directly off the bird and eating it.....right off the bird.....before it was carved.  He got down to the bone and explained to me that his dad said the best parts are next to the bone.  Knife to turkey, fork to turkey on bone, fork in mouth, repeat.  I let this go on for a few minutes out of shock and awe, then we removed the boy and his knife & fork from the turkey and the kitchen.

The In Between....
Football has ended and we had a few banquets to attend because his team won their district and made it into the playoffs.  It was neat to be part of the whole experience and I even met some cool parents along the way. I still can't picture myself like one of them, you know, a parent.  My maturity level is probably that of my neice, and we have our own language.  :)  The coolest part of everything....Coach gave the boy a Varsity Letter.   Yeah, yeah, I cried.  I was so grateful to this Coach for accepting the boy on the team, letting him play a few games and then giving him a letter.  Class act all the way.  Coach...I forgive you for the Labor Day incident.  I captured his plays on video thanks to my good friend.  I posted them on his website for his family to see.  Very, very popular boy in Germany and Russia these days......they don't need to know it was 4 plays at the very end of the JV game.  It could have been the Super Bowl for me.  Sappy, me?  He also has the football jacket now, with the leather sleeves, his name, number and of course the letter on the back.  <grin>

Telling Me What To Do? WHUUTTTT?

A few weeks back I caught my annual cold.  It knocked it out of me.  The boy has two parents that are physicians and veritable pharmacopias.  This kid has  drawer filled with pills with everything imaginable.  The best part about having a full drawer is that it allows the boy to keep his clothes on the floor and the chair where they belong.  In fact, he informed me that he lives out of a basket.  <screeeeeech>.  Since his arrival, I have seen his floor twice, I think.  Fleeting glimpses.......  But, I digress.  So, he shoves a couple of boxes in my hands as I was swaying from exhaustion.  He says, "These are pills, you will take them now."  The boxes are in German, so I have NO IDEA what I am taking.  He assures me they are safe, so down the hatch!  I am writing to you now, so I survived the German Pill experiment administered by Russian Ken doll.

In Russia....

To amuse me, and because his English continues to improve at an exponential rate, the boy speaks in a Russian accent.  He often sings a couple of lines of a tune or refers to "Mother Russia",  one of those things I will never tire of....it is of the dreaded "you need to be there" kind of references.  We were in the parking lot today of the Best Buy, and somehow got on the topic of baseball bats.  He comes out with "Did you know in Russia, there are 3.5 million baseball bats and only 3 baseballs?"  Who knew.  He proceeded to say, "Most prefer aluminum because they do not break over someone's head like a wooden one would."  Good To Know!  Thanks for the tip there Uncle Eddie......