Sunday, August 22, 2010




And so, we are finally "home"

I don't know if anybody is following my blog anymore, as my last entry was in May. I didn't even know if I would ever write again, but I figured someday, Brody would like to read this blog and I should at least try to end it appropriately.

Tomorrow, on August 23, 2010, Brody Marat will be entering his fifth month of being declared an official part of the Cargill team. The last five months have been hectic to say the least. Brody has traveled to Buffalo, NY to meet his great-grandparents, Helen and Earl. He has traveled to Rainbow City, AL to once again spend time with his grandma Sharon. He has visited Raquette Lake, NY (in the Adirondacks)where he met Christy and Ken and their kids. He has visited Washington, DC where we all reunited with our friends from VA, Michelle and George and their adopted son George, also from St. Petersburg Russia. Brody has ridden on airplanes, jet-skis, boats, canoes, Ferris wheels, swam in pools and did I mention? He had his second birthday on May 25, 2010. This kid already has a lot under his belt.

Brody puts/says three words together now, peels his own bananas and navigates stairwells alone. He has gained four pounds in five months and oh yea, just got over the dreadful coxsackie virus. Shall I continue? Brody is truly amazing. Now, he isn't perfect....did I mention his tantrums? his stubbornness? his "Stop it Mama!" on a regular basis? But he is amazing.

When I look back over my adult life so far, I am really not surprised that I am here today. When I married Scott, he told me that we would lead a "life uncommon" and he was damn right.

I didn't expect to travel to Dubai or Argentina before I turned 40..but I did.

I didn't expect to stand in front of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and watch smoke pouring from windows before the towers collapsed....but I did.

I didn't expect to ever complete a triathlon (tiny as it was) this year...but I sure did.

I didn't expect my Dad to die three weeks after I returned home from Russia with my only son...but he did.

And I sure as hell didn't expect to live in St. Petersburg, Russia in March 2010 and on the very last day of that month, bring home a boy that I barely knew and become his mother, for good or bad, better or worse..but here I am today.

I am grateful for who I am and who I am yet to become. Bringing Marat home has been another part of this journey. I don't know why we became a family, but it was meant to be. I firmly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. The planets collided, the stars aligned, well, you get what I mean....we are all where we should be, be it as it may. At this very moment, this is where we are in our journey. They are not always easy or perfect lives, but somehow our lives became entwined forever and for that, we can be grateful and that will get us through the most difficult of times. I love you Brody Marat. Thank you for coming home.

ps. Happy Birthday Dad. You would be 69 years old today. I know that you watch over us every day and that you too, wherever it is you are, are home.