A Missing Piece Found

Where yesterday I felt dazzled, today I am completely humbled. I have felt a repeated sense of loss for Baby J since we arrived. Seeing the people and the culture he leaves behind has saddened me – how easily could things be different and that would be *him* that a proud grandmother shows off to the tourists with a camera, *him* strolling happily in the park with his grandfather. It saddens me that such a delightful child didn’t have a choice and has lost two mothers already in such a short time. So much to overcome for such a small child who has such tremendous things to offer. I wished I had more to offer him of this place that was his home. And just like everything else on this journey, it fell right into my lap.

When he grows up, I will be able to tell him that I looked in the eyes of his foster mother and felt the depth of the love she held for him and her gratitude that he found his forever home. As he processes his story in his own time and in his own way, I am so glad that at least this piece will not be something he ever has to wonder about. I will leave the details between the two of us because I really feel that’s where it belongs. She was his and will always be a part of him. It’s impossible for me to place a value yet on what it might mean for him to have this information, but for me it’s a treasured piece of his past that I’m grateful he’ll have.