It started with Cedrick, just a few months after we opened.

Then Ted and Tremaine,

Zander,

Lettie, Jon, and baby.

Dozens in all. 

Extended families, cousins included,

Or just a single sibling.

Moved on.

"My gramma's gonna keep me in St. Louis."

"We got a house approved for Section 8 on the southside." 

"She wasn't minding, so her uncle's gonna keep her further west."

"My gramma says we gotta go."

Sudden.

Overnight.

"We already had our clothes in bags, so we just got on the bus and moved."

Today, the most recent,

An orphaned child,

Beloved to us for the past three years,

Saying goodbye from a third-floor window.

Monday

He'll be states away

From the hundreds of extra, special lessons

We carefully crafted

Just for him. 

But however sudden the stop

We know

That he knows

What we sometimes can only shout up from street level:

"We love you!"

Each of you. 

So, so much.