Dear Kid,

Last night we said goodbye to Tal.

Safe travels, sweetie! DearKidLoveMom.comaHuge thanks to Marcie and Sharon for organizing a picnic of all the host families to say goodbye to everyone.

The goodbye wasn’t easy.

The remembering was.

Like the first day we met Tal, just about a year ago. Poor Tal was so tired from her long trip here, she could barely keep her eyes open.

Tal Cooking Shakshukah DearKidLoveMom.comOr the food she made for us: schnitzel and shakshukah. Shakshukah is now a regular in our kitchen although I’m not sure where I’ll get the right spice when this batch runs out.

How about our trip to Florida. Poor Tal had never been trapped in a car nearly that long. To her credit, not once did she say “Are we there yet?” Swimming with the dolphins down in Key Largo (fan-freaking-tastic!) was well worth the car ride. And she was a great sport about playing Boggle with our family even though a) we are highly competitive Boggle players and b) English isn’t her first language.

Tal and Kids totem pole. DearKidLoveMom.comOne of my favorite memories is when Tal and I went shopping for a fall jacket for her. The two of us went up to the outlet mall and went store to store not finding the right thing. We’d go in, look around, decide there was nothing she wanted to try on, and turn around. It was the day I learned to say “Si’amnu po” “We’re outta here.”

Mostly, I remember her living with us. Her cheerful smile even if she hadn’t yet had coffee in the morning. Her helpfulness, her charm, her interest in learning about us and sharing her background with us.

Puppy in Love DearKidLoveMom.comTal, we will miss you more than you can know. Travel safe, stay safe in the Army, and please, please stay in touch. We love you, baby.

Love, Mom