His hero...

Yesterday, I was sorting through a huge stack of papers that seemed to have accumulated in our office.  Funny how piles of stuff just seem to appear around our house, but that is a blog post for another day.  As I sorted through the papers, I came across this...

This was a report Gabriel wrote earlier this year in school.  His teacher, kept it and shared it with me at parent teacher conferences.  As she told me about his writing and the fact the most other kids picked a famous athlete, singer, movie star or one of their friends at school, she thought it was really nice Gabriel picked his family.

Of course hearing her explain what he had done and reading his note, I couldn't help but cry.  It still makes me emotional reading it.  I explained to his teacher after reading the letter and her probably wondering why I was a sobbing mess, that Gabriel is adopted.  I briefly told her our story and that his words mean more to me than I think my tears were conveying.

Gabriel has always been our sensitive, expressive in his love child.  He doesn't take things, I took for granted as a child, for granted and I think still to this day, he remembers what it was like not to have the security and the home, like he has now.  

As a mom, I worry constantly about if I'm doing the right things, or how my mistakes in parenting will affect them.  I worry that I spend too much time trying to protect them from things, and too little time helping them with what they need.  The reality is, I probably need to find a better balance in both.  The truth is, I'm doing the best I can and every morning I get up with the determination to do better than I did yesterday.

Seeing Gabriel's note reminds me that with all my shortcomings, I  we must be doing something right.  I'm so thankful, so proud and so honored that Gabriel would choose us to be his heroes.

Until next time,
Angie