-
There’s No Place Like Home
We went to the orphanage with Benji & Maisey. It was a nice, clean place. Had music therapy, water therapy & physical therapy. It sat behind metal gates & walls with glass pieces cemented in the top. The most telling thing was that Benji wouldn’t go to anyone. Not his nanny, not anyone. He wouldn’t even smile at them. Kids need love. It’s not just about providing for them, keeping them clean & protected. We bought them toys that they’ll have nothing to do with. What have they played with the most? A deck of cards and the door hangers. All of us have been ill since arriving home from the orphanage. Dan was hit the hardest. I don’t remember the last time he slept for 14+ hours. At first I thought it was the 3 hour drive there & back, driving here is crazy. There is absolutely no way I could do it everyday. Lanes aren’t a consideration, most of the roads lanes aren’t even painted and it’s 3 or 4 lane interstate. At one point, I saw a guy drive into oncoming traffic for a nice game of chicken. Mopeds, bikes, tractors, huge holes in the road, it’s plain crazy. We had a meeting yesterday and everyone asked how we are doing. I told them & instantly other families were offering to go to Wal-mart for us & one went so far as to offer us Lipton chicken noodle soup only to show up with plain ramen for the kids, soup for Dan & rolls. We have meet some really wonderful families here. We are traveling with 12 other families. They all have amazing stories that have brought them here. Every of those stories start with a big dose of faith. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly when everyone got their babies but a lot more tears & yelling was certainly expected. These babies just want a family. They cling to the moms and the dads. Benji & Maisey have both just opened their hearts to Dan & I. We’ve had a year of thinking about them. A year to grow to love them. I was not expecting the depth of their love & trust already. They have had really tough lives. They both look like poster children for “feed the children”. Benji won’t go to sleep unless he has a cracker in his hand. They cry if I move the ramen out of their site. They don’t understand that there is more food. That I won’t let them go hungry again. Yet, neither of them is impatient with the other. They each patiently take a bite. They smile & wait. You have to be careful with how much food you put in the bowl because they will eat it until it’s gone. I just can’t say it enough. I have been so blessed these past few days. They run at me with big smiles on their faces, arms outstretched, ready to hug & love & giggle. That’s not to say everything is perfect. Benjamin has night terrors that put him into a crying jag that will rip your heart right out of your chest. I just hold him and cry. But they, who’ve had nothing, still have the sweetest spirits. Count your blessings, be thankful for all that you have and hug those kids of yours even tighter this evening and if you just happen to hear Him talking to you about opening your heart and your home to another little one who has been abandoned. Well, be sure to listen. It’s an amazing, amazing thing. But for now, I’m clicking my little red shoes, cause there’s no place like home…..there’s no place like home……
