The Happy and the Sad

I realized today that everyday I’m here will be hard. They brought Isaac over to the Sheppard’s to spend the day with me. He immediately came over to me, and we hung out. We watched a movie, called my mom to say hi, jumped on a trampoline, played with a beach ball, then he saw the Sheppard’s kids jump in the pool, and freaked out. So we got on his swim trunks and went in. He was such a lush…he just laid on his back and let me push him around by his feet, squealing with laughter as John-Mark the Sheppard’s oldest son, would chase him around the pool pretending to be a monster. (Just a side note, Isaac is so short that he can’t touch the bottom of the pool, he is only 36 inches tall.)

It was a lazy day of bonding with my son. Then came the time for him to go back to the orphanage for the night. He instantly went from sweet, talkative, laughing Isaac…to stone cold. I told him, that I wasn’t leaving him and that I would see him in the morning, but you could see it in his eyes, he was ready to go home NOW.

He was tearing up when Melodie, walked out the door with him. She just got back and told me that he cried when she dropped him off, and said he wanted his ma. I don’t know how to do this each night. Melodie thinks that it is worth his sadness each night to have him spend time with me, because he really opens up with me, she said she has never seen him so happy.

He is so sensitive. When he’s around other people like the Sheppard’s he closes himself off and doesn’t say a word, even when asked a direct question, but as soon as it’s just the two of us, he lights up, and smiles, and giggles, and talks a mile a minute, (by the way, I can’t understand a word he says…consider Liberians to speak another language, because that is what it sound like when the kids talk).

It rained all last night, and into this morning, then it cleared up, but the rain really cools things down around here, which is a nice break. It was some national holiday, though no one knew which one, so everything was closed down and no one worked.

They did wish everyone a happy Mother’s day yesterday, while I was at church, but I don’t know if all Liberian’s celebrate mother’s day, or just a few. It was nice. They asked all the moms to stand up. I didn’t even think to stand up till Sydney who works at AOH nudged me, and said, “Hey ma, you need to stand up.”

So I have to say I love it here. Living with the Sheppard’s has been such a blessing. I’m going to miss them when I move into the beautiful guest house tomorrow.

Well it is late here so I better go to bed. Say a prayer for understanding in Isaac’s heart. I love him so much, and I can’t wait till I can come back and bring him home.

P.S. Mom Isaac got so excited after he got off the phone with you. He opened the photo album and started pointing and saying I talked to grandma…I see grandma. When he gets sad when he has to go back to the orphanage each night I tell him I have to go to America to get Grandma so we can both come back and get him. He likes that…so now you have to go with me to go get him this summer.