Monday 16 September 2013

Devine Intervention or Curveball?


A couple months ago I was alone with the boys at a local shopping centre when I made the last minute decision to pop into a fast food outlet to get the kids a snack.  I had some grocery shopping to do and have learned that shopping with hungry kids can be like trying to hit the snooze button on your alarm in the morning...its better to just get up.
 
Sometime through the snack session I noticed that the manager was watching us rather intently. This happens a lot as you might has guessed – ALOT. I think that this comes with the territory of cross-cultural adoption, everyone is trying to work you out and I am quiet used to it by now.
 
So we pay our bill and leave the shop and the manager comes out and asks if these are my kids – I explain that we are in an adoption process but yes they are my kids and we say goodbye.  Then later I am walking the isles of the grocery store and I see the same guy at the other end of the isle not really shopping but just walking around a little aimlessly. Eventually he walks up to me again and says Hello again and asks me straight up what are my kid’s names.  I explain that they are Thomas and Max and then also give their birth names Nhlanhla and Anesu.  He then told me that he knew these boys that they used to live very close to him and that he remembers them well. He said a quick goodbye and walked off, I watched him and noticed that he made a phone call as he was walking away.
 
My heart was racing a little by this stage because I was a little uncomfortable with the situation and the level of interest and just unsure of what was happening and how to handle it.  I paid for all my stuff and pushed the boys out and the same guy was standing waiting at the exit and walks up to me again!
 
He comes straight up to me, this time a little more emotional and says “I have just called my brother on the phone and confirmed that this child (points to Max) is his son.” I felt like what can only be described as full blown feeling of panic rising inside my chest while I tried to remain as calm as possible in front of the kids. He went on to describe the history of the children as I had heard it from the social worker and it was all 100% correct. As he spoke I began to feel calmer – he was in awe of the children (who were completely zoned out and unaware of him) and was clearly very happy to see them. He was well spoken and polite and was speaking in a way that was not making the children uncomfortable. He went on to say how happy he was to know that it was really them and then opened up his wallet and took some money out, gave it to me and asked me to buy something for the children and thanked me for what I was doing for them! He asked me to bring them around again sometime to visit and said “May God Bless You!” as he walked off...
 
Will fill you in on how this “chance meeting” has impacted the adoption process very soon and we believe that it was for good - Praise God! -  so Part 2 to this story will be positive not to worry friends – hope to have it ready for you soon! xxx

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