On Saturday morning, I never knew who to expect might be camping out in our living room. I was young, probably 12 or so. I cannot tell you how many mornings I would wake up and walk to our living room and find a kid or two sacked out under a blanket.
They were always friends of my brothers. Some had parents who really just didn't care about them, some were just lonely because they were only children. All were welcome in our house.
I had nearly forgotten about all those kids until last night. Most just stayed a night here and there, a couple lived with us for a month or two or three. I can't tell you how many there were, more than four, probably less than a dozen.
Not all of the stories had happy endings. Most grew up to be decent functioning adults, one ended up in prison. But none of them, none of them ever betrayed the trust my parents had placed in them by letting them stay at our house. I never remember feeling threatened, these kids were part of our family and when our dad lay dying years later, some returned to our house and reminisced about the old days. For many, my dad and mom were the only true parents they had ever really known.
Nearly a year ago my mother told me that my niece and her husband were thinking about adopting two little girls. Given the number of "stray" kids that were part of my upbringing, I would have assumed that my first reaction would have been a big smile. I hate to admit it, but my first reaction was that my niece didn't realize what she may be getting herself into. I worried.
But oh, how I underestimated my niece's instinct along with the joy these two precious girls would bring in my own life.
In a week and a half these two little girls will forever be legally tied to our family. But they have been tied to our hearts from the very first meeting.
Which leads me to another story. Imagine taking in a kid off the street. A teenager, a black kid in a white millionaire neighborhood. A kid who was homeless, whose mother was an addict and a background you were unfamiliar with.
I would love to believe that my heart and faith would be bigger than my fear of the unknown. I want to be that person, but I know I will never be.
But there are some people who do the right thing, no matter what. There are people in this world who turn a blind eye to the fear of taking in a troubled teenager.
Last night we went to see The Blind Side. A true story of the Touhy family who took in Michael Oher. A VERY big black teenager who had no home. They brought him in their millionaire neighborhood, fed, clothed him and changed his life.
What would have become of Michael Oher had this family been too fearful to let him into their home with their teenage daughter and young son?
I don't know the answer to that, but I would bet everything I own that his life would not have turned out like it has.
Obviously Michael Oher was a special kid, not letting his early life affect how he percieved the world, but then so are the Touhy's.
The movie was wonderful from start to finish. It would have been a great fictional story, but it's not fiction. It's too amazing to be fiction.
If you haven't yet, go see The Blind Side. It will just make you hopeful that you might be able to change one person's life.
My niece is changing two.
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