Last night I went out of my comfort zone. Way out if you know me. I went to a Very Loud, Very Crowded (16,000 + people) Christian Rock Concert in downtown Birmingham with a five year old who has some major socialization issues. Now I was smart on one front. I left John and Emerson at home, and I am sure this is the reason I am alive today and able to write this post.
Why? you might be asking, did I go so far our of my wilderness, gardening, secluded state? For those of you who don't know me personally, you might not know that the types of things I find comforting are, well, not in the main stream. I don't mind sleeping outside most of the time, I like snakes, I find bugs that don't bite or eat my garden intriguing, I grow almost all my own food, we don't have a TV...
So here is the reason why I went anyway: I got an e-mail from HOLT International, the agency that placed Isaac with us, asking if we would volunteer at the event to sign up children sponsors. I couldn't really in good conscious say "NO" given, how morose I have been about the world around me being oblivious to the "real" issues going on. This was my chance to go and sign people up to sponsor kids who are hoping to be adopted in the interim. Kids like Isaac, but unfortunately Isaac was never chosen, and thus he suffers from night terrors, questions food availability constantly, regresses to baby mode, and struggles with the most basic reception of language and touch.
Isaac really struggled with the concert and the crowd. He was clearly stressed, reverting and testing me constantly. An example is that I brought 3 PB&J's two apples, one orange, one bag of trail mix and a bottle of water. He kept begging for food. I know this "game" well. He wants to see if I am a good Mom and can feed him. Unfortunately he plays it until he fulfils he prophecy that I won't have enough. When it ran out he started punching me and shouting "I don't like you anymore!" This though, was what the night was all about. Preventing great kids like Isaac from developing the permanent scars of neglect and trauma so that they can join their forever family with much more ease.
Our task was simple. Isaac and I were given a stack of kids who needed a sponsor. We needed to walk up and down the isles during intermission and convince the people who stayed in their seats to sponsor a kid. I am not sure how I feel about the way I went about getting sponsors, but it felt downright honest, probably too honest for the South, but oh well. I had Isaac look through the stack and pick the kids he connected with when I told them their story. Isaac would then go up to someone and ask them to sponsor a child. When they would look at him and then me, they would seriously ask me questions like "is he one of the real orphans." I would kindly explain that he WAS, but now he has his forever family." I would tell them that I brought Isaac because he wants to help other kids like him. I would then have Isaac explain his purpose in life is "to make sure that kids are never hungry."
Well, needless to say we signed up 15 people in 20 minutes. It is hard to say no to a five year old who has survived it, and ask for you to do something about it. It was worth steeping out of my comfort zone, because well, it was a pretty small discomfort compared to what my own sons endured.
I will say my favorite part of the evening was walking back to the car in the cool evening air. We left after we did our work well before it was over. The streets were mostly empty. We walked free style, while creating patterns out of the bricks. We laughed, we pushed street cross walk buttons, it was just the two of us, and for that walk, we were just a normal Mom and son in the moment.
Way to go Isaac! And, as my mother would have said, 'Good on you, Karon'. I love Isaac's purpose in life to make sure that kids are never hungry. And to think, 15 little ones will have some of the support they need as they wait. And maybe the germ of the idea of adoption entered into one of those 15 people. I'd say you had a great evening!
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