The City of Angels: And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. (great abe)

One of my superstar girls, Nancy, turned 15 last weekend. This is a big year here because when you turn 15 you can go get your National ID card. As birthdays aren’t celebrated individually here, I promised Nancy, Ann and Kwan that we would celebrate together. I have become so incredibly close to these three; they’re amazing kids. They take care of each other, they are wise beyond their years and they’re so smart and talented. I can’t say enough good things about them.

In the cab to dinner I told the girls how Ben had sent his best and wished Nancy a very happy birthday. “Awwwwwww P’Ben, dadddddd, he should be here!” While Ben is missed, I think I’m doing a pretty decent job as a single mom ☺. Off to the Pizza Company, where iced tea milkshakes and copious amounts of pizza, pasta and salad were consumed, the girls left filled to the brim. Kwan joked that Ben would be jealous of how much we ate. As I sat back in my chair, I couldn’t help but take in the smiles and laughter and smile as well. Nothing cures a mood like these three and they are a constant reminder of why I am here and why I love what I do so much.

Nancy, who always surprises me with her serious moments, stopped giggling and looked me right in the eyes. “We were saying before, well, we’ve never met volunteers like you and P’Ben, ever. You really take care of us and do special things with us and remember our birthdays. We’ve never called any other volunteers Mom and Dad before. You two are different.” There go those “over-active” tear ducts again… I was so touched, but how could you not want to do everything for these girls?

We finished dinner early and the girls wanted to “play something”, which more accurately translates into, “we don’t want to go home yet…” so we found, most likely, the only ice skating rink in Bangkok. “Girls, are you sure you want to do this? You’ve never skated before…” Apprehensive, but excited, they all clamored, “Yes!” So, there we were: myself in a short dress, the girls all wobbly, like a new calf, and terrified, holding on to the railings with white knuckles. I spent an hour skating backwards, holding their hands and pulling them along, alternating between the three. Even exhausted from using new muscles, they stayed on till the very end. When we left I got a huge group hug and Nancy declared, “I want to be an ice skater now!”

As children growing up in a community that encourages you to try everything and has the resources to do so, I was reminded of how lucky I am that my parents exposed me to so many different 'things' as a kid. Now I get to pay it forward. The look on their faces, trying this new “sport” out for the first time, was exhilarating, even at 15. Just to be a part of these moments is like experiencing it all again.

Not to mention, I’m glad the kids were able to have some fun before being sentenced to full days of cleaning Mercy while they are out of school. Yesterday they cleaned the sewer under Mercy and were covered in oil and mud – a job given to Thai prisoners before they are let out. Needless to say, they are probably really missing school at this point!