Congratulations On Your New Baby Teenage Girl!

So, big news:

I have a new sister-in-law! Er, I guess I should say cousin-in-law-who's-now-my-sister/cousin-in-law....

My husband's cousin has been thrown into the crazy loving arms of my in-laws. She is the offspring of my mother-in-law's half-brother, who is the pinnacle and absolute definition of the word douchebag. He is a lousy piece of crap who is married to another lousy, albeit more bossy and controlling and psychotic, piece of crap (who is my cousin-in-law's step-mom... her real mom is a drug-addict and is never allowed to see her; i.e. no custody at all... great options, right?). This kid has been neglected and emotionally and physically abused for years. She is 16, but to my knowledge she has never been to an actual high school. Last year when her grandmother (my mother-in-law's mom) passed away, she spoke to our family a lot about the truth behind what was going on in her life. She lives in rural upper washington, miles from any bus stop or school and with no transportation. Her dad and step-mom will leave for months on end on road trips around the country, leaving her with little food and no money to survive with. They just tell her to stay put and care for their animals. OR they drag her along in cramped quarters on the road for weeks at a time. She is "home-schooled" but none of it is ever followed through with; no one teaches her anything, none of her "homework" is graded or tested, etc. She is basically raising herself and with her family's history, she is on the fast track to fucking up her life and winding up in the system, with very little fault of her own.

So last week, shortly after her dad and step-mom left for some Christian marriage counseling bullshit retreat in Georgia, she hopped on a bus to Eugene, Oregon with some help from her neighbors (who were more than willing to do anything to help her get away from that family) and was met there by my amazing step-dad-in-law. They drove for HOURS to get back down here to California, were completely exhausted upon arrival but nevertheless left 20 minutes later for a lawyer's office so that my in-laws could file for emergency temporary custody. Emergency custody was granted on Monday and she is now being enrolled in high school, and all of us couldn't be happier. Bear is happy to see his cousin for the first time in years and to have her be a part of our lives, as am I. As for me, I'm just stoked to see her get at least a couple of years under a stable roof, with a good, strong, loving family who respects her and wants her to succeed. I'm stoked to see her get to be a kid for a couple of years, to enjoy her last years as a teenager in high school, learning and living with people her own age. She is an amazingly strong and resilient young girl and she has so much potential, and I'm so happy to have her here. And as for my in-laws, I don't think I could possibly explain how brave and awesome they are or how much I love them. They are turning their lives upsidedown and inside out to help her and to make her a part of the family so that she can have a chance to succeed and to be a kid for a while, and that is as heroic as two people can be in my eyes.

My dear in-laws, I love you both so much. V has a real life now because of you and that is the best gift any child could ever get. You guys are amazing.

My dear V... welcome to the CrazyTrain family.

As for you, Bear... CLEAN THE CATBOX!