I have no idea what it is like to be a mother but this month I am getting a glimpse of what it is like…
just a glimpse……because all of these kids that I have been surrounded by. I have love for all the kids, but there are three boys, that have stolen my heart. They are wrecking me, in a good way. From day one Rong (middle) would come up to me and hug me, he showed me around the place, and showed me the trees. When he showed me that I knew we were meant to be friends, I LOVE TREES! =) Then the next day he would come over to me and just crawl into my lap when I would sit down. It was like we had known each other forever. He would call himself baby and me mom, and at the beginning I thought it was different, but then I grew to like it.
In a couple days Sokny (right), started to do the same thing, and they would both then call me mom and them brothers. It was so cute. They would draw pictures, not just one, but many. Then they would make bracelets and not just one but many. (If you notice my arm that is why the collection has grown so much so fast. ha.) Each day we would come to the orphanage, I would have a new gift, which was crazy. I was so excited to see them everyday.
Then Rathana (left) started to join in. This one makes me smile because they others jumped in right away calling me mom and giving me hugs but he was timid. He would come over and hang out. Then one day all the kids were playing with the jump rope. They would try to last as long as they could, every set of 10 jumps, it would spin faster. Rong went and I was able to cheer him on and say good job. Then Rathana stepped up and did it, he was telling me that we was going to do 100, then he noticed the kid before him only get 8. So he changed to 15, and laughed. Then the whole time he was counting and had this huge smile on his face. After he got more than 15 he ran over, jumped. and hugged me, and I was able to say good job.
Just to be there and to be happy for them at doing something I realized meant so much to them. It didn’t matter what it was that they were doing, just to be there and to be excited about what they were doing I was happy to do also.
Rathana opened up so much more after that. Now he is just like the other two. Hugging and running around, inviting me to do all that they do, showing me what they have done, bringing gifts to me. They all are so different, but there is some things about them, about all of us, that are the same. They all love hugging and having my arm around them at some point during the day. They also love hugging with the four of us and when one was missing they would call for him. It is really sweet. The gifts, hugs, and being excited for them are great, but with this I have found out there is so much more…
