Last Sunday was Father’s Day, and it was my first Father’s Day as a father of three. Jaden has been with us for about five months now, and his being home seems so natural that most of the time it is hard to remember a time when he wasn’t with us. Although I have to admit that it does occasionally strike us with wonder (Laura more often than the rest of us, I think) that he is really here forever! Anyway, Father’s Day was interesting because it just seemed so natural that I have three children, like it could not have been any other way.
This week we got to go see The Lion King Broadway play in Tulsa for the second time with Jaden, and it was special again. The first time we went (a couple of weeks ago) he sat enthralled the whole time and really enjoyed it. I was not sure that he would be so captivated again, but he mostly was (although he did let out a couple of loud yawns in the second act … not because he was bored but just because it was way past his bedtime.)
We had aisle seats each time, and the first time one of the hyenas that was walking down the aisle stopped and yipped right at him, to which Jaden responded "What are you doing?" When Mufasa died, Jaden said "Poor Baba." (We had always skipped past that part when he watched the movie.)
This week he caught the eye of a few of the cast members as they walked down the aisle, but the best part was when Jaden cracked up when Pumba sang loudly and wagged his tongue … Jaden laughed and laughed and laughed, and the folks around us got quite a kick out of Jaden’s enjoyment.
He has been to several plays with us now since coming home, and has enjoyed them all. He even enjoyed West Side Story, although when it was over (it has somewhat of a strange ending, I admit) he just looked at me and raised both palms up in the universal "what’s up with that" sign.
In other recent events, today was Mitch’s fundraising lunch at church for his upcoming Visiting Orphans trip. He will be spending about 1 ½ weeks in China in July helping to care for orphans by being there to give them attention, love and prayers.
We spent a few hours yesterday preparing for the luncheon. We had lots to do, and unfortunately it seemed that everything we needed was in one of the other church buildings, so I spent a lot of time going back and forth between the three buildings.
When I am working on a task I tend to focus on getting it done and I don’t really appreciate distractions or interruptions. Well, this was one of those times when Jaden had different priorities and a different perspective on what is important than I did. He wanted to go with me each time I went to a different building, and he wanted to "help" me each time I had to carry something from one building to another. Being focused on the task I was getting frustrated, then I stopped and really looked at what he was doing … He was volunteering to help in any way that he could ("helping" me carry a trash bag, carry a container of tea, move an easel, etc. etc.) but he was doing it with such joy! He truly wanted to help, and was doing everything that he could to help.
It really struck me what great joy he was having as he helped me, and I found it touching that he had no idea that he was indirectly helping the orphans who will benefit from Mitch’s trip!
As is so often the case, it is good to stop and re-evaluate what is "important" at any given time!
All went well today with the lunch today, and it really helped raise funds for Mitch’s upcoming trip. He is going with an organization called Visiting Orphans, which exists to fulfill the biblical mandate of James 1:27 to "visit orphans in their distress." In his writeup for the church newsletter, Mitch wrote that the team is "heading to an orphanage in Chaoyang, China to play with the children, take them on walks, and just let them know that someone loves them." He will be on this trip from June 10 to June 22.
As a final note, Jaden's language continues to come along! He is putting words together in new ways to make sentences and to express himself. We are frequently surprised by what he is able to come up with!
