AJ had been with the second adoptive family for six months when he got appendicitis. It was four days before Christmas and Myrna, his new mother, was very aggravated because this illness was interfering with her busy Christmas schedule. Going to the hospital to see him was a real inconvenience.
Myrna and John had made the decision to adopt AJ because John wanted a son. Myrna had already raised four children of her own. Her heart obviously was not in having another child and she resented the time and attention John gave AJ.
AJ got to the point where he would run and hide in a closet when he saw her coming. His social worker had been watching the situation and was disturbed by what she was witnessing. She made the decision that this was not an appropriate home for AJ.
It was a cold and snowy winter night in February when we got her call. She had told us he had been through a second adoption failure and was so traumatized that he was vomiting from all the emotional turmoil. She asked if we would take him and give him a place where he wouldnt be under so much stress and could relax. He lived five hours away and the caseworker was nervous about the driving conditions. My husband Butch, agreed to drive over the mountains, which would be about halfway, to meet her and the child. The worker really loved him and had such compassion but there was just no way to make the reality of a situation like this feel good, especially for the child.
They met in a McDonalds parking lot about 9:00 at night, in the middle of a blizzard. Ive tried many times to imagine what must have been going through that young boys mind as his worker put him in a truck with all his worldly possessions and this strange man. Butch and the child then drove off into the stormy night. This young man had no idea where he was headed or who would take care of him. How does an eight-year-old mind cope with that?
I was waiting at home with several other boys for their arrival. The other kids warmly greeted AJ and everyone was anxious to show him around. We soon fell in love with this young man and adopted him into our family permanently.
In the years since, Ive talked with him about how he felt that night. The only thing he remembers is how everyone was waiting for him at the door of our home. That really tells us how their minds can shut down when the pain and heartache become too much to bear. We then send a child like this to school the next day and he is expected to pay attention, get his work done, and behave. Fortunately, AJ is one of those kids you call a survivor. He was able to cope with the situation and has been a blessing to our family ever since that night. Today he is a happy, productive and successful young adult who is liked by all who know him.
Unfortunately, AJs story is not unusual. There is a different story with every child, but every child has the same need to be loved and cared for. Child after child began to make their way into our hearts. This book tells the story of the children who came to live in our home. Some were with us for only a few days and others stayed for years, but each one left us with special memories.
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