A new face in our house...a friend of Ben's named Andy has come to live with us for a while. He needed a change of pace, change of scenery, change of lifestyle, and asked if he could come live with us. Of course we said yes. It will be an extra full house with Ben coming home next week. (Our house is under 1,000 sq. feet.) We called Ben and asked him if he didn't mind sharing his room with Andy and knew what his answer would be. He said it would be great. So, Andy moved in yesterday. For some reason I naively thought he would only come with a suitcase! That is crazy. Of course, if he is moving in, he would come with a truckload of stuff. Clothes, mostly. And a surfboard, skateboard, some tools, golf clubs...other boy toys.

Andy's mom and I were close friends before she passed away in 1999. Andy had just finished sixth grade. We didin't stay in close touch with him when he moved to another city to live with his aunt and uncle. I always felt bad about that, like I was letting my friend and her son down. So at his high school graduation I whispered to him that if he ever wanted to come back to San Diego, he was always welcome to stay with us.

I have two girls in my life that I count as daughters. The older one has been friends with Ben since she was three years old. Before she moved away to go to college, she hung out at our house all the time, even if no one was home. She has moved back now and I am teaching her how to drive. She thinks I am really going out of my way to do it, but I get so much pleasure spending time with her and talking to her. Really, it is a win-win situation for both of us.

Her younger sister, Michelle, and Mikayla are good friends. She comes over often. I feel close to her and am glad she will still be around when this house empties out and everyone goes off to college in the fall. At least I will have a kid around. I might have two-Andy, also.

I feel blessed to have so many kids in my life--my own, foster kids, stray kids.