watching them grow.

when we decided to move across the city a few years ago to be closer to amalio's job, i'll  be the first to admit that i wasn't happy with the situation. moving made my work-from-home job impossible, and for the past five years we had lived in the same neighborhood. it was nice. and comfortable.

and i don't really like to be taken too far out of my comfort zone.
(really. i don't).

but when we moved in, just a few blocks from the high school, the house was always busy in a way it hadn't been before. there was a neighborly feel that didn't exist in our prior apartment complex and because we were so close to school, students stopped by to say hello.

don't get me wrong. it got annoying a lot. who likes having a house full of teenaged boys when all you want to do is get some sleep? but it was nice to get to know the boys that society would otherwise have boxed in.

from left: me, samil, rovin, jonas, sandro (photobombed
by amely)

delinquents. druggies. trouble-makers.
poor.

yet these are the kids that show up when someone is sick. who stop by just to say hello.
they're not causing trouble. they're not doing drugs or stealing or painting graffiti on your house.

this past weekend was jonas' birthday. it's been an honor and privilege to watch this one grow-up from awkward kid to a caring young adult. to push back at the pressure that society has put upon him and refuse to conform. and rovinson who is more dedicated in his university studies than i ever would have imagined. these two have brought so many friends into our home, but they're the constants.

and i'm so excited to see where this crazy life takes them.