Against All Odds Again

Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of Tommy’s “gotcha day”. Gotcha day is the term used in the adoption community to celebrate and remember the day that a child came to your home to stay. I have already written about the problems that we had with Tommy’s behavior and the fact that he had a “heart scar” down the middle of his chest with no explanation from the state. Tommy came to us one month after his brother Caleb had joined our family. Caleb had a very rough first month of his life. Now that we know almost all of their … Continue reading →

Gotcha Day #2

One month after our first “gotcha day”, the phone rang and it was our state social worker. She was calling to say that Caleb’s older brother, Tommy, was immediately available to be moved into our home as a foster child. Tommy had been in a therapeutic home because of his health. The foster parent that had him called the state and demanded that they pick him up that day. Apparently, they could not handle him. We were well on our way in our planning to adopt all three of Caleb’s older brothers. We readily agreed to take Tommy that day. … Continue reading →

A Child’s Life in the Ghetto

I have never been to the apartment complex where our boys used to live. I have the address and I plan to go there eventually. Our oldest is the only child who can really remember what life was like there. When he is older, we may go back and look around. Many of us drive by the squalor of inner city tenements every day. Most people would not want to visit such a place. It is far too dangerous. Many innocent children call these places home. Their lives are in danger every day because of violence, abuse and neglect. An … Continue reading →

Hope for Our Children

I had a critical illness when I was a baby. I had to have a tracheotomy; I see the scar in the mirror every morning. But the real problem was fever. It stayed too high day after day. This occurred in the late forties when the medicine available was not nearly as effective as it is today. There were three nurses that worked eight hour shifts in my hospital room. When they went off duty, one of them left her cap and the other two took their caps with them. My mother asked one of them about this and found … Continue reading →