Five Years Later...

Five years ago, I offered to help a young woman I had never met. All I knew about her is that she, her husband, and their two little boys had been evicted from their apartment and would either be sleeping in their car or staying with her mother, cramped into her small living room.

I had met the young woman's mother a couple of times, and knew she suffered from MS. It was to the mother that I made my offer of help. It sounded like this, "If you ever need a hand watching those two little ones for an afternoon so you can get a break, let me know. It's summer vacation and I'd be glad to help."

On a Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks later, the young woman and her mother came to my door with the little guys. They asked me if I could watch the boys as the mother was moving and needed to pack. I looked at these darling little babies for the first time, both with blond hair and blue eyes. The baby was 13 months old and his older brother was just two. These little boys were in t-shirts and diapers, with no pants or shoes. They had obviously been playing in the dirt and were in desperate need of haircuts. Smiling, I took the baby from the young woman, along with a plastic bag containing three diapers. She had nothing else to offer...no diaper bag, no sippy cups, no comforting toys. We talked briefly about what time she would return that night and decided on 7 or 8 o'clock.

We played outside and got to know each other for most of the afternoon. In the sunlight I could see dozens of bug bites all over their little bodies. They looked like flea bites but I couldn't be sure. I discovered that the baby was just learning to walk and loved to have hands to hold on to to get around. His brother could walk and run, but didn't have any words in his vocabulary yet other than typical baby babbling and the word "no."

At 5:00 we had dinner and I saw these little babies shoving fistfuls of food into their mouths and leaning down to eat directly from their plates. To my astonishment, they ate every single bite of food.

At 6:00 I learned that both boys were terrified of the bathtub. After much cajoling and a few toys to play with, we got through it. I dressed them in my older son's T-shirts that looked like little nighties on them.

At 7:00 I picked out two or three stories to read. With both boys on my lap, I read out loud. Two active little boys became still and silent, mesmerized by my voice and the pictures in front of them.

At 8:00 we snuggled in the rocking chair. I sang soft songs while their sweet little heads relaxed on my shoulders and they fell asleep.

At 9:00 I laid them down on the couch, one on each end, and tucked them in with soft blankets. Their soft little snores filled the room while I waited for their mother.

At 9:30 I heard a car pull into the driveway. I stepped out onto the porch where I could talk but still hear through the screen door. I told the young woman that her boys were sleeping and that we'd had a fun day. I asked if she had any plans to apply for emergency assistance to get temporary housing, since her mother was moving and she had no place to live. She laughed and joked about living in her car if she had to, so I advised her to go to social services the very next day. I offered to watch the boys again, and she asked if she could just leave them with me overnight instead of having to wake them and bring them back early the next morning. She assured me that they wouldn't wake until morning and that she'd come back as soon as she got back from her appointment the next day.

She was right on one count. Those two little boys did sleep all night. However, she didn't return the next day, or the day after that. I went on a shopping trip to buy clothing, shoes, diapers, and other basic necessities for the boys, telling myself that she'd likely need some newer things for them when she picked them up anyway. On the third day she came to say her father had died and she asked me to keep them for another week. The following week she came by to say she was busy and couldn't take them back. After many weeks of her stopping in to say hello and provide reasons that she couldn't take them back, I applied for temporary custody. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Five years later, my two little boys, Justyn and Tyler, are still with me. I have full custody and have started the paperwork to adopt them. They are well-adjusted, bright little boys who know they have a loving mommy. They love to read, play outside, and ride their bikes. They adore their two older brothers and two older sisters.

Tomorrow we are celebrating Justyn's sixth birthday, and Tyler turned seven in March. I consider myself  blessed to have these little boys in my life. It wasn't planned and it hasn't always been easy, but I know they are meant to be with me. I can't think of a better way to teach my older children what it means to love and accept others and I thank God for choosing me to be the teacher.