Waiting for the bus with Zhen

This boy. Waiting for the school bus. I don't always know what to say about Zhen...

He is a tough kid. Literally tough, a product of his rough beginnings. Tough to understand. Tough to love. No sugar coating here. Zhen is a perfect example of the invisible damage that institutional care can do to a kid.

Thank goodness he's sorta cute.

And he is really clever...so stinking clever. I think he'd be talking and reading if he hadn't been deprived of a loving family experience for his first 3 1/2 years. 

Tonight he is lying in his bed, feverish and miserable. He doesn't get sick often, but when he does he is a pitiful mess. He's gonna hang out with mommy all day tomorrow. As much as I enjoy putting this boy on the bus each morning, I think a day with mommy is just what we both need.