Yesterday was Brennan's birthday. I wasn't there that day with him. I wish I had been there to share his first moments...to welcome him to the world. But, 7 months later, our delivery room was an office at the adoption agency. Our meeting with him was a bit like a first date..not sure what to expect. Would it be love at first sight? We were a bit nervous but very excited. He was just nervous. That is how we meet gorgeous baby who obviously hadn't missed a meal with thunder thighs and a beautiful eyes. He studied the room and our faces as if he was knew so much more than a 7 month old could have known..His shy, cautious first encounters remain the same me today. Did he know that day that we were to be his parents? Did he know that he soon he would be asked to say goodbye to Mama Cheryl and Papa Ray and their family to join ours? And did he know that the warmth of Alabama would be left behind for dramatic changing of seasons of Minnesota? I am not sure he would have signed up for all that God had planned for him in his first year of life. But, I am sure it was God's perfect plan for him.
...Change has never come easy to Brennan...opting for the familiar..a home body. What did he know that day 13 years ago when he left the hospital with his foster family to begin a life with lots of change ahead?
And yet, he has thrived and grown into a teenager now. He has never wanted to stick out in a crowd...partly born that way..shy from the start no doubt. But, also because there is no avoiding being noticed in a predominately white community when you are African American with Caucasian parents. He has met the challenge well. God has been close to Brennan through the tough times and has been teaching him, molding him into the man he is becoming.
And once someone one breaks through the shy, reserved Brennan, what lies behind that initial approach to life is something much different. He is so funny...so quick witted and ridiculously silly. He keeps the family laughing..especially when the mood needs a shift, we can count on Brennan to lighten things up. And he is kind and compassionate beyond his years. He treats his brothers with typical wild and rambunctious excitement and yet extends a tender and gentle touch when they need it. He treats his sisters like princesses. He is going to make a great father and husband one day.
I left the hospital yesterday while a friend stayed with Elijah. He is sleeping much of the time now. Brennan and I went school shopping, and enjoyed his favorite thing...strawberry shakes at the local diner in town. I love spending time with him...that time is so fleeting now that the teenage years are here.
Happy Birthday, my dear Brennan. You have changed our family in ways that we couldn't have imagined. We thought our family was complete and then you came to shake us up out of our comfort zone..and things have never been the same since. And for that and for you, I am so thankful.
