Esther and John Ben stayed in Texas with his folks for a week before coming home on Christmas Eve, but first, they put Xenia on the connecting plane to Albuquerque. The first week of having her home was great fun as the kids reestablished their place in the pack. They all fought Xenia and each brother wrestled with every other brother to reestablish their places. It’s easy to see that Basil came out top dog and that Justin kept his place as the baby of the family. Jonah and Xenia established a truce, and the house attained a sort of equilibrium.
Xenia enjoyed being an only child living with Esther and John Ben. At home, she was immediately lost in the mix, but I’d catch glimpses of her climbing trees with Justin, watching television with Jonah, and leaving the house with Basil who she convinced to take her on random errands that usually involved ice cream.
None of us knew what she would say when it came time to go back to Ohio. The school in Albuquerque started a week before her scheduled flight so we insisted that she start attending. Getting her up at six in the morning was hard, but it wasn’t a fight. The girls at the school were excited to see her. By the end of the week, she had gone to school each day and her friend Analee came over on Saturday to celebrate Xenia’s thirteenth birthday with us.
That was a happy day. Our friend Ruth from Fort Worth had flown in to be here for our house blessing on Sunday. Sophia and Mike’s mom Coryn were there. My friends Kelly and Christa came too, so with Analee we had fourteen people around our table to sing Happy Birthday to Xenia.
When I asked Xenia why she decided to stay, she said, “Three-fifths of my plants are dead, and half of the remainder are half-withered.” She was determined to save her emotional support plants before we killed them completely.
She added, “I have to stay to annoy my family.” I think she likes her family and home better for having a break from us. We’ve got a big-screen television and a kitchen fully stocked with Nutella, which is her favorite food.
She also said, “Life wouldn’t have been any better for me if I had stayed in Ohio.”
She’s spending the day with her new friend Kya. Earlier they were outside riding around in the front driveway in some contraption that has a hoverboard and a wagon tied to each other and a huge clear umbrella for a wind break, and now they are rollerblading with the umbrella as a wind harness. Xenia loves being back in our lovely New Mexican home with our huge yard. She appreciates having room to run around outside again.
Esther and John Ben loved having Xenia but are happy to spend their last few months of newlywed life before the baby comes with each other. They recently found out that the little hospital in their town has a bad reputation and have decided to have a home birth. After having a homebirth of my own and knowing Xenia, I think it would be better for her not to see that.
Everyone is happy that Xenia is back home. She’s embraced her life here in a way that seemed impossible last September. Thanks be to God.
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