For the last couple of weeks, my home has been filled with family and friends. But there’s one person I hadn’t yet seen over the holidays — Little Biker Boy. This morning, I drove out to the town where he lives so we could spend some time together.
Biker Boy is not little any more, although he still does love to ride a bicycle. He’s taller than me now, and in a dark hoodie and shorts (yes, shorts even in the winter!), he looks like the teenager he is. But despite his height and facial hair, he is still the same affectionate, good-natured kid. After I picked him up, we ate pizza at a local pizza place, as is our tradition. Then we drove to the nearest park, a place with rock cliffs and a waterfall surging with snowmelt, to take a walk.
It’s been almost two years since Biker Boy moved in with his adoptive parents, and it’s just incredible to see what a difference a loving, stable home can make. We talked about school and girls and snowmobiles and video games, and the whole conversation was wonderfully normal and low-key. All the anger that used to simmer below the surface has dissipated, leaving just all the good characteristics that were there all along.
We walked along a trail that gave us a good view of the waterfall. Biker Boy took my phone and began snapping pictures, and then he started teasing me by saying he was going to climb over the fence. “I should KNOW better than to take a teenage boy anywhere near a waterfall,” I said to him. “My sons always did the same thing.”
“I’m so much like your kids,” he said, dropping back to walk next to me, pretending to push me off the path.
“You are,” I said. “I’ve always told you that.”
Biker Boy is not little any more, although he still does love to ride a bicycle. He’s taller than me now, and in a dark hoodie and shorts (yes, shorts even in the winter!), he looks like the teenager he is. But despite his height and facial hair, he is still the same affectionate, good-natured kid. After I picked him up, we ate pizza at a local pizza place, as is our tradition. Then we drove to the nearest park, a place with rock cliffs and a waterfall surging with snowmelt, to take a walk.
It’s been almost two years since Biker Boy moved in with his adoptive parents, and it’s just incredible to see what a difference a loving, stable home can make. We talked about school and girls and snowmobiles and video games, and the whole conversation was wonderfully normal and low-key. All the anger that used to simmer below the surface has dissipated, leaving just all the good characteristics that were there all along.
We walked along a trail that gave us a good view of the waterfall. Biker Boy took my phone and began snapping pictures, and then he started teasing me by saying he was going to climb over the fence. “I should KNOW better than to take a teenage boy anywhere near a waterfall,” I said to him. “My sons always did the same thing.”
“I’m so much like your kids,” he said, dropping back to walk next to me, pretending to push me off the path.
“You are,” I said. “I’ve always told you that.”
13 comments:
It is really so lovely to read of Biker Boy and know that he is happy. Love and stability are wonderful things.
It's so nice to hear how his life is going, and especially that it's going so great. I hope the same is true of his sister, though I suspect you don't have the same contact with her.
I have loved watching through your posts as Biker Boy grows up. You and your family have been such a blessing to him.
So great to hear good news about him!
Yay, Biker Boy! So good you have a continuing connection with him. xoxo
Nice! But you might be kidding yourself that all the anger has dissipated. In my experience with my flesh-and-blood kid, you don't know where it comes from, and you don't know when it might reappear.
Phil: Oh, I have no doubt that he (and his adoptive parents) still have some struggles and challenges ahead. The kind of issues he's got in his background don't go away overnight. But it's amazing to see the progress he's made. He's on the right path and heading in the right direction.
(o)
YAY!!
Love and faith in someone go a long way. It is good to believe in the progress you see. The last line is so touching.
Nice to get an update- I was telling someone about him the other day, and the love and prayers from you and your readers.
That's such a nice thing to read. You helped him a lot in his life, offerin him some of the care he needed until his new family took over. It looks like it made a difference.
You keep offering him the care he needs. You've been present, you haven't gone away, and you've given him a good thought to hold on to (I'm so much like your boys). What a gift.
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