Divine Providence Chronicles, Chapter 2: The Res Hab Counselor from Heaven (literally)

Pop the popcorn, my friends, for it's time for another astonishing story. Believe me, I've been savoring this one for a while. We're back to one of my simultaneously favorite and least favorite topics: RES HAB.

As I wrote in a recent post, we went through a Res Hab overhaul after we came back from the country. We had settled for Heidi and Judy. But things fell apart really quickly. Judy, who had started 12th grade, became head of student G.O. at her school and apologetically informed me that she could no longer be Dovi's Res Hab. I panicked, but her sister Rebecca eagerly filled her shoes. Great.

Heidi, who as I wrote was a little aloof but a good match for Dovi, decided after 2 weeks of working with him that she wanted to give it up. I was shocked but not suprised. Her reasoning, apparently, was that she wanted to work with a child who was more responsive, that she could actually make a difference. Shrug... She was good, but we would survive without her. The only question was - who would replace her?

Enter Nina, the girl who had called two weeks before. She was delighted to do it. She came to meet Dovi the first time and it was an absolute instant click. On her very first day she seemed to instinctively know what he wanted, was communicating with his signs - she was absolutely in love with him.

It was amazing. Nina has been, to date, one of Dovi's best res hab counselors ever. She was punctual, she did a fantastic job, and Dovi loved her. Sadly, like most high school grads, she gave up the position after a year; she is now a sixth grade English teacher and doesn't have time to do this anymore. She still takes him occasionally on legal holidays for an hour or two, and her family sends me two freshly baked challahs every Friday. They are lovely people.

On Nina's second day with Dovi, I was overwhelmed with delight and gratitude. It was our first res hab counselor that I could truly say - aside from Rebecca, who had been volunteering with Dovi for a while before - that was a perfect match. When Nina came to drop off Dovi, she brought along her little brother, who was smitten by him. When she left, something incredible happened. My husband overheard me talking to my mother about this wonderful new girl named Nina ResHabsky (name changed of course). He looked at me, incredulous. "Did you just say Nina ResHabsky???" As I heared the name out loud, I froze. Everything suddenly fell into place. I had to confirm our hunch. I picked up the phone and called Nina.

"Nina," I said. "Are you by any chance named after your great-grandmother, Nina ResHabsky?"

Nina said yes.

My heart beat fast. "When your great-grandfather Mr. ResHabsky passed away, your great-grandmother Nina remarried. Can you ask your mother if she remembers the name of your grandfather's second husband?"

Nina asked her mother, and replied casually, "Sure. His name was Dov Blogowitz."

I paused and waited for her to realize what she had just said.

"Nina," I said, my voice catching in my throat. "Do you realize what's going on here? Dovi is named after his great-grandfather, who was married for ten years to your great-grandmother, whom you're named after. It's the spirit of their two souls that were attracted to each other. That's why the two of you have such great chemistry. Can you believe this???"

Nina was shocked and amazed. What were the odds??? Two direct descendants, named after their respective ancestors, were now working together. No wonder Nina and Dovi clicked immediately.

Nina continued working with Dovi for another nine months. It was a wonderful experience, and we still miss her.

I am still filled with wonder at this amazing turn of Divine Providence. I love retelling this story. It's one of the few amazing stories attached to the difficult tale of raising Dovi. It's always wonderful to have a positive story to tell.

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Forgive me for doing this, but from this point on, I will be posting the Donate button in every post. Please, if you can, make a small donation to Dovi's Educational Fund. At this point we are barely at the quarter mark for his lawyer's retainer - nevermind the actual costs of his tuition. We need tens of thousands of dollars!!!