Mr. T and Z

We have been having Mr. T and Z weekly since last fall.  Their Mom needs some respite care as a single Mother with health issues.  In case you are wondering, no, we are not wonderful for doing this.  We just feel called to walk along these two kiddos, to be their ‘local Grandparents’ as it were and provide some consistent, normal (well, sort of normal) family farm time.

They have taught me how to make snow men.God has taught me that I only need to do the part I am ‘called’ to do.  There is a lot of ‘drama’ in their lives…sometimes I have responded to it…now I am learning not too…that is not ‘my’ part.  ‘My’ part is these two…just being consistent…having them weekly…and doing with them what I would do, if they were THE Grandson.  Mr. T’s language is delayed, so I read to him and rock him and talk to him…and snuggle him a lot.Mr. T and Z love Number Two Son like a special Uncle.  Number Two’s heart breaks for their situation and he loves them back…Having them through many winter nights, cooking becomes a great way for us to spend time together.  My Loving Spouse and Z make home-made pizzas for dinner.Our hearts are stretched and we worry about them…but we have figured out that we cannot fix much, but we can do this part…and be consistent.  They always want to come and they are never in a hurry to go and truth be told, sometimes they are even a little annoying, which we believe means that they feel very comfortable and hopefully safe with us.

Last week was Z’s birthday.  She and I made cupcakes for her to share at school, as is the school tradition.  I told her we wanted to take her out to dinner for her birthday.

“Have you ever been to The Yellow Church Cafe?”

Her eyes lit up.

‘No, but I’ve seen it!’

“It is a very special restaurant.  We are going there and you can order anything you like, because it is your birthday.”

We could not have done this, except we’d been blessed.  When My Loving Spouse got hurt, we received in the mail a very generous gift certificate to The Yellow Church Cafe from our friends, anonymously.  I had sort of thought of saving it for our anniversary this month, but then asked My Loving Spouse what he thought about taking Mr. T and Z there for her birthday dinner.  He said that was a great idea and so off we went.

There was just a hint of bravery taking a 2 year old to a nice sit down restaurant, especially a 2 year old that rarely experiences sitting at a table for family meals.  I pulled out every trick in my old toddler book to keep him contained and quiet while waiting for our food…sitting on my lap whispering in one ear and then the other the words to “The Wheels On the Bus”.  Luckily, the food was served quickly and let me tell you, these kids can eat!  Mr. T gobbled up bites of my steak, carrots, parsnips and huge heaping globs of his macaroni and cheese.

Z dug into her steak saying, “This is the second time I have ever had steak.”Our meals were delicious, and I enjoyed every single bite!  Z ordered a large piece of chocolate cake, a neighboring table made her a balloon animal and it was a delightful success!

After we dropped the kids at their house and were driving home, My Loving Spouse and I reflected on the evening.  The gift certificate had been so generous that our meals were all covered as was a lovely tip…and we think that whoever gave us that gift would be as happy as we were, with how we used it…

and we are blessed.