A Home for the Holidays

I was playing with Rebecca & Mary-Gail downstairs last night, when the TV special, "A Home for the Holidays" came on. Hosted by Sheryl Crow, this program highlighted children of all ages waiting to be freed from foster care and adopted into loving homes. During the hour-long feature, stories were shown about children who were in foster care that got adopted. But there were stories shown of so many more children that were still waiting to be adopted. One story in particular stood out, and I'll do my best to represent it:

A young man had been in foster care since he was 4, after being removed from abusive, drug-addicted parents. He was hopeful he'd get adopted, but did not. He focused his energy on bettering himself and became the valedictorian of his high school. He got a fantastic job, married, and had a daughter and son. He said "he made something of himself." Then he asked a tearful question, "Who wouldn't want to call me 'Son' now?"

Then, he and his wife came across 2 young brothers who were in foster care but were available for adoption. He and his wife adopted these young boys, and after working with them & loving them unconditionally (working through the neglect and abandonment) these young boys felt safe, loved, and were happy, excelling in school and other things. Then the father asks of his new sons, "Who wouldn't want to call them 'Son' now?"

The FLOOD GATES opened and I couldn't help but to swoop up Rebecca & Mary-Gail and hug and kiss them endlessly. Despite them squirming and pushing away from me (yes, sadly, they are getting to be more independent) I needed to hold them and squeeze them. I am grateful that I can call them "daughter." This is my new favorite song: "Walk You Home" by Karmina. Click here for a free download