The pink cloud has dissipated.
The puppy dogs and kittens have all
gone on to greener pastures.
The euphoria surrounding the
finalization of the adoption and the relief that “it is done” has
faded like the last warm rays of a summer sunset. Now the business
of parenting begins in earnest.
This parenting thing is no walk in the
park even under “normal” conditions. If you are parenting
teenagers that last phrase would be an oxymoron! If anyone has any
doubts about it, we are not operating under “normal” conditions.
As any parent of a teenager can attest,
you struggle with lots of attitude from the mouths, body language and
icy stares of the little chreubs. Struggles with raging hormones,
wildly vacillating emotions, low self-esteem, loneliness and poor
self-image a but a few of the delights facing parents of teens. Add
in a pinch of the negative onslaught coming from todays music,
television, drugs, alcohol and just plain old bad influences and you
have the makings of a powder keg.
Now imagine throwing into this volatile
mix a history of abandonment, emotional trauma, physical abuse or
self-installed high walls to protect your inner most self; and
that's just a small sample of what an orphan has to deal with.
It has been six months since we first
met K in Jaycee's kitchen. In many ways we've learned a lot about
each other but in some aspects we don't know jack. There have, no
doubt, been countless wonderful moments where we all seem to let our
guards down and share in the moments of family. There have been
Cheshire cat-like smiles when he proudly shows us his grades from
school. He so wants to please and receive that affirmation of
affection … that “Atta boy”! Don't we all? How much more does
he want it … dare say, need it … after all these years with no
one there to pat him on the back?
But there have also been some dark
moments that seem to well up and burst forth over those defensive
parapets. Sometimes it's a matter of misunderstanding and struggling
through the difficulties of language barriers. Other times it comes
from a much deeper place in him – a place filled with hurt and
anger. Lots of hurt and lots of anger.
No, no one ever said that parenting was
easy. It's the most difficult job on the planet. But we persevere.
We assure him that we love him. We reaffirm our commitment to our
family – a family of which he is an integral part. We also show
steadfastness when it comes to expectations and what it means to be a
part of a family. We try our best to understand that this notion is
completely new him – the notion of a loving family that cares about
him. We don't always succeed at that.
This is going to take quite a bit of
patience, love and resilience. We know there will be times when we
say to ourselves, “We could have done better on that.” But one
thing is for sure. We never go back on our commitment to love.
Never, ever.