WN’s Family Guy
I’m pretty good at having kids.
Admittedly, my start was a little shaky. When we had our first, Molly, nearly 12 years ago, the nurses had to pay almost as much attention to me as they did to my wife, Leslie. Up until the magical moment in which Molly graced us with her presence, I paced obsessively wearing a path through the middle of our hospital room and down the hall. When the time came, the nurses suggested that it would be better for me to support Leslie horizontally, sharing encouraging words from an adjacent hospital bed.
Come to think of it, with Riley I was a bit overcome with the magnitude of welcoming our first baby boy into the world. Actually, I was moved to the point of some fairly significant nausea that took a couple days to subside.
Sadie was a few years later. By the time she joined us I was an unshakable veteran. When she jumped out, I caught her with my left hand and in one smooth motion high fived everyone in the room with my right.
When Haley, our 4-year-old arrived, I was so in tune with what to do, I almost called an audible and sent the doctors and nurses home to welcome our sweet baby girl into the world all by myself – almost.
No matter how you keep score, I was four for four on my deliveries.
Leslie realized that there was nothing she could do at this point to rattle me. And so, the competitor that Leslie is, she dug deeper into her playbook. One night when the original four were fast asleep and a calm haze was over our home, Leslie’s hand fell into mine as we sat side by side on the couch.
“Honey, what do you think about becoming foster parents?” she asked in some hypnotic melody.
It was tough to clearly make out what she was saying because I was so preoccupied with the fact that she was holding my hand on a school night.
“Ummmm… hmmmm…” is what I remember saying.
A few weeks later the doorbell rang and somebody handed me another kid. There may have been a couple other steps in between that I’m not remembering, but I can assure you it wasn’t anything like the labor I had to endure for our first four. Within a few years we had a dozen foster children come and go.
Each time our kids rotated bedrooms. With every child we learned new favorite foods. We tried to provide a comfortable routine and a warm, welcoming home.
Some of the children were a challenge while they were here. However, nothing was more difficult than when they had to leave.
And just when that pattern of kids passing through became too much to bear, we had our first come and stay. With a smile that outdistances his ears and a laugh that starts at his toes and shakes his whole body, Omoro immediately embraced our family as his own. And we couldn’t get enough of him.
Less than a year after Omoro joined us, his baby brother, Garrison, was born. Three days into his life, Gary came to stay with us, too. It feels odd to take pride in a baby that was delivered to you, but I’ve never been more proud.
Next week, our boys, Omoro and Garrison, will be our officially adopted sons. Three boys, three girls and two happily overwhelmed parents. I can’t imagine greater joy in life.
I’m pretty good at having kids, but that doesn’t even compare with the privilege of being their dad.
11/10/13
