Saying Good-bye

Well, as I expected, saying good-bye to Mari-Liis was difficult. After all, she had become a part of our family. She was like a daughter to me and a sister to Rachel. I don't know about the girls, but heading down to the IHOP for breakfast before going to the airport, waves of sadness would wash over me and I had to fight the tears from starting to flow. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and spent time in the airport gift shop and just talking before it was time for her to head through security. As we walked toward the gates, she said she didn't feel like she was leaving to go home. She felt she was just going away for a day and would be back tomorrow. She would wake up at our house. But then when the two girls hugged, the tears flowed for all of us. Mari-Liis said she didn't think she was going to cry. When she hugged me she told me I was a good mom. If I hadn't been crying before then, I was certainly crying now.

It was a quiet ride home because neither of us wanted to talk much for fear the tears would start all over again. And they did, even without talking. After we got home, I found Rachel sitting in the closet in Mari-Liis' room. It is hard to go in there and see that room so empty. It's not supposed to be that way. But I keep telling myself that it won't be empty for long. Sometime soon I believe that God is going to bring a special little girl or boy into our lives who is going to fill that room and our house and our lives with much joy and laughter. One chapter in our lives has closed and now we await the unfolding of a new chapter. Right now we don't know what it will look like but we know it will come. Until then, we will hold on to the great memories from our last chapter with Mari-Liis and wait patiently (or not so patiently at times) for the next chapter to begin. We will fill our lives with driving practice, cleaning out the basement, finishing up the summer reading program at the public library, and just enjoying time with family and friends over the summer.