Sorry guys, I am not feeling it today. I can tell by stats that this is not my most popular subject heading as I get low views on Thursdays. But, this is a special one in many ways.
One year ago today, I walked away from a six figure and very stable job. This was my last day of work. I did this to find myself and maybe to save my life from potential self-destructive behavior. I have enjoyed my time so much and I have personally accomplished so many things this year. One of the commitments we made before I left my job was to host an exchange student for the year.
August 25, 2019 we welcomed Sergio at the airport an embarked on an adventure that you cant put a price on. It was supposed to be an academic year of sharing and nurture ending as these programs do with graduation, pomp and circumstance. But, the ending was not our destined path. This morning at 4AM PDT we said our final goodbyes to Sergio with a heavy heart.
We have had other exchange students, kids and guests in our lives. This adventure started as many others do. We did the whirlwind State Fair, trip to the beach, family meet and greets, etc. He was probably glad when school started a short two weeks after arrival to get some reprieve from our crushing tour of hospitality.
I would be remiss to not mention a super emotional beginning when our beloved Snowflake (English Retriever, ~7YO), suddenly died of heat exhaustion on a short stroll in the local woodland trail. We were bonded by trips to the veterinarian ER and euthanizing end. There was a lot of emotion from all of us, including someone that had only been with us a week. I think it galvanized this new unit from the beginning.
I can only imagine what life for him was like; a new country, a new school, a different language, no friends and the like. Life soon settled down into a routine of football games, school activities and new experiences. As we headed toward mid-year, Sergio found his stride and was very involved in the local theater production of ‘Modern Millie’. It was that event that he really found his direction.
As the play was wrapping up in late February, we started getting inklings that the situation would be turning in an un-anticipated direction. Washington was reporting the first cases of COVID-19. My sister is heavily embedded in the situation as she is a doctor in the public health department in Washington. I inquired about the severity of this because I knew that if it was happening there it would be here shortly.
It didn’t take long and the domino’s started falling. My wife’s office closed for six weeks and school was put on a two week hiatus. One of those weeks included Spring Break so not a huge deal. Toward the middle of Spring Break, April was removed from the school calendar. We started to see all of the other exchange students leaving and our program ended as well. We were urged to send Sergio home. We had the option to ride it out as long as school resumption was a possibility and had several conversations with his parents to make the right decision.
About one week ago, it was decided that school was done for the year. All seniors in good standing were dismissed and would receive a diploma for time spent. That meant that his visa was technically over and it was time to officially leave.
He was such a good influence on my kids. He was a playmate and responsible role model. He reinforced our rules and pitched in whenever asked, many times not even asking but understanding the expectations. I think that we all appreciated a different dynamic that this relationship brought.
In many ways, we had something we would have never had if this had been a normal year. We had a solid month of quality family time. We played games, planted flowers, taught lessons in cooking, watch movies and TV series, made videos and laughed. I suppose that the regrets of what we wanted to do to finish the year crept in and certainly the premature ending was abrupt. This was a journey bookended by emotional events with a lot of good stuff in between.
It is time for new beginnings for all of us. I have kept a lid on job searches so as to make sure that Sergio would finish his year with the family that made a commitment to him in January 2019. Now school is out until next fall, it is really time to make some different life choices for me and I can consider relocation if need be.
I am going to miss having him around.
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