Shelton Shenanigans

Adoption through the Eyes of a Five Year Old   Many pages in this blog have been dedicated to the antics of our almost kindergartener.   For a while there, I referred to him as “Pilikia,” which is just a fancy word for trouble that I got from one of those word of the day calendars.   But Pilikia generally fits as this little boy is rarely still, and If he’s quiet, you better be wary! When we started our adoption journey, he was a year old.   This summer, he’ll turn six.   He’s grown up with a fundraising, spare change saving, adoption-talking family, but it’s just been in the last year that he’s started to absorb any of it. The first time we completed our home study, the social worker couldn’t really interview Pilikia because he was only two and didn’t have a lot to say about the matter.   When we updated it last year, he hid in an upstairs room and refused to talk to her because he was afraid to talk to the weird lady with purple streaks in her hair! But at home, when

“Have I not commanded you?   Be strong and courageous.   Do not be terrified.   Do not be discouraged.   For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”   Joshua 1:9 That has been my favorite Bible verse from the time I was a teenager.   I still remember Ms. Kennedy teaching it to our church’s daycare children as part of a devotional one summer morning.   I happened to be there as a volunteer and learned it along with them as it could be sung to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me.”   Shortly thereafter, I went off on a big adventure and clung to it with all my might, and periodically it comes back to mind when I need it. To be sure, being terrified comes as naturally to me as music ever did.   I rediscovered that old friend when we started the adoption journey with a calling, no money, and no direction.   But time in Haiti radically changed my reactions to fear, and that is not often the battle that brings me to my knees these days. It’s the next phrase I struggle with.  

Some things are surprising, like when your ten year old gets in the car on a Wednesday night after church and asks to hear Tom Jones songs.  (It's Not Unusual) Or, when the five year old asks to say prayers after the family bedtime Bible story, and remembers to pray for the sick, and even mentions your sponsored child in Guatemala by name.  I didn't know he was even paying attention to that part! Or how much fun it is to play with a fidget spinner.  That's seriously entertaining! Or when the closest thing you can find to a healthy breakfast item in the Kansas City airport is something called "dirty fries." Some surprises are not so pleasant, like when your adoption agency announces they are again extending the estimated wait time for a referral - this time to twenty four to thirty two months.  While that one wasn't earthshattering, it was nonetheless disappointing.  (I note here that the wait time is not within the agency's control, but is bas