Goodbye to the kids

Tomorrow will be my last day with Gabriel, Theodore and Constance which actually has me feeling quite sad.  I have really come to love spending time with them.  They brighten my day and make me smile.  I find it relaxing to just sit with them on the couch and watch a movie.  Especially when one of them leans their head on my shoulder, really sweet.  It touches my heart every time Gabriel tells me how sad he is about me not being able to watch them anymore, or makes me promise to visit, or asks about my day, or tells me that he misses me in the evenings when I am gone.  Theodore has begun to listen to me more.  Instead of reacting to things angrily and becoming a whirling dervish (spelling?) like he tended to in the beginning (he is a bit moody and temperamental), now when I tell him to take it down a notch, he looks at me quietly for a moment and then he often does.  I love when Constance runs to my side by the oven and asks in her cute, tiny voice "Brooke, can I cook with you please?"  It melts my heart.

I have gotten Gabriel and Theodore addicted to Mille Bornes so we play that every single afternoon, at least 2-3 hands together.  Really sweet.  I have also begun to play a game with Constance called "tightrope walker" which involves me spinning her around and then setting her down.  Then she and I both (since we are both dizzy from spinning) have to walk a narrow tightrope-like band on the carpet without slipping.  This usually results in lots of giggling from her.  Last week, Constance and I also had fun doing the "I like to move it" Just Dance video together via YouTube.  That was really great.

I also love listening to them talk to one another, or to their father in frequent French (it sounds so lovely and sweet, hearing little children speak that particular language, really lyrical and nice sounding), and then turn and speak to me in fluent, perfect English.  I think that is so incredibly neat and inspiring.  It fascinates me.  They are so young!  Especially when Constance does it, wow.

Below is a cute photo they let me take of them :-) Gabriel is on the bottom left, Theodore is on the bottom right and Constance is obviously on the top.

Ciao for now, I am off!

“Goodbyes, they often come in waves.”