When I was a little girl, my parents read me a book about adoption called The Chosen Baby. My older brother and I had both been adopted and it was never a secret. They told us from day one that we were loved and chosen. It never set all that well with me though. I wasn't chosen. In fact THEY were chosen. I'm not the type to sit around and wait to be picked for a kick-ball team and I certainly wasn't waiting for someone to pick me. So on this mother's day, I'll share my version - written for my Mom. I couldn't have picked better myself.
Love,
Summers
The Chosen Parents
High upon a
puffy cloud in heaven sat two angels, their blue mischievous eyes twinkling at
the adventures of people below. They had spent the day hopping from cloud to
cloud playing with the other angels and found themselves exhausted and
thoughtful. As they sat, eyes peering down below at the shapes mother earth
made with her green land and blue oceans, the girl angel said,
Thoughtful and a bit more subdued than his giggling and
playful friend, the little boy angel pointed to the mountains of Alaska as
they reached around the top of earth and said “I want to see what we look like from
there. When we run through the clouds, I think it’s probably quite beautiful.
I’ve heard it called the Northern Lights.”
The two angels chatted for a while about all the things they'd like to do on earth. Both agreed that meeting dolphins was essential and learning to ski, or "snow fly" as they called it was a requirement. They then thought about what kind of lives they might like to have.
“I’ll be and Irish king.” the little boy said decidedly.
“I’ll be a flower, or a fairy, or maybe seasons!”
“You can’t be seasons silly. You can only be ONE season! Besides you have to be a person.” said
the boy angel, pushing her playfully with his elbow across the cloud. She tumbled further than he meant, and
just as she reached the edge of the cloud he grabbed her wing and brought her
safely back. She had a habit of tumbling.
“Well you can’t really be a king anymore, because the only blue eyed kings anymore are in England and that's too boring. It rains there all the time and the children don't get to eat. I've seen Mary Poppins. But I bet you could be a little
prince. They still have those some places” She replied knowingly as she steadied herself next to him. She often pretended to know a lot.
“What will you miss most about being an angel when it’s time
to go to earth?” she asked.
“I will miss flying.” He said without pause. “The
freedom of taking my wings to the air to see the mountains, the skies, the
birds and animals. Listening to the music of the wind and following the stars as they wander through the sky. I will miss that the most. What about you?”
“I will miss seeing the world from up above and learning
from all the people below. I love watching the world turn and seeing their
stories unfold. They have joy, they love, their sadness and the kindness and comfort of
all of humanity as a whole. From up here, the world looks so much more
peaceful. Down there I think they might miss the beauty of it all”
He pensively tossed a cloud puff up and down like a stone, pausing a moment and then skipping it across a current passing just beyond their perch. She harrumphed. She still couldn't skip cloud puffs on air.
The two angels knew that sadly they would soon be separated.
The boy angel was ready to return from heaven to earth and God had asked him
what kind of family he would like. The little boy had always had an adventurous
spirit and God wondered if perhaps it might be hard for him to keep his feet on
earth for long but knew it was his time to land.
“I would like a family that really needs and wants baby.
That way they will understand if I am not perfect. I'm sometimes quiet and I need them to give me space, but they need to love me no matter what. I want a mom and dad who
will let me fly when the time comes, but will shelter me and protect me when I
am small.”
God thought for a while and said, "I think I know the perfect
solution, but it won’t be a simple path for you." The little boy looked
quizzically.
“You see” said God “there is a young woman down there who is
going to have a baby but she is far too young to be a mother. She wants her
baby to be loved and protected and has chosen to give her little angel to
another Mom and Dad.”
“Like Mary? She was too young to be a mother.” he asked.
“Sort of,” God laughed – “A little bit. Some might mistake
you for the baby Jesus.”
“Well, what are they like?” he asked curiously.
“They love each other very much and they will love a baby
very much. They are hard working and loyal. They want a child more than anything but they won’t be
able to have one without another woman’s help.”
“Can she come too?” he said pointing to the girl angel who
was now peeking around the cloud eavesdropping on the conversation. Never to be
left out and a bit sad she might not see her friend for a while, she had to
keep an eye on him even if it might make God mad.
God laughed and said, “Why yes indeed! You see they want a
little girl too. Just not yet, she will have to wait until there is another
young girl ready to have a baby to share with your parents.”
At that the little girl angel came from behind the cloud and
said in a curious and perhaps a bit bossy tone,
“If I’m going to wait, which I don’t much like to do, it
better be for something good. What will our names be? I only want to go if my name is perfect.”
God laughed. He had become accustomed to her occasionally
bossy manner and had grown to love it because she often corralled all the
angels together and told them stories about adventures on earth. When she told them attendance was mandatory, they indulged her, perhaps because her stories made the
angels happy and inspired them to do some good.
He said, “I think, little one, you will be quite pleased.”
“Soooooo what? What will they be?” she prodded, twisting her
blonde pig-tails.
“Wait! Before you say anything.” The little boy interrupted,
knowing that once the names were announced the little girl might make up her
mind and he still had questions.
“I want to know if they have aunts and uncles
and brothers and sisters and really wonderful grandparents because I want to be
able to share my life on earth with a big family. I want to be part of a
family!”
“Why yes my love” God replied. “In fact, you will be part of
a wonderful big family and that is from where you will get your names!”
“Will they let me fly?”
“Will they let me search the world for stories?”
They asked in unison. God sighed, knowing he was sending the
parents quite a handful, yet also knowing they would protect and love this little precious pair.
“Yes. It won’t always be easy, and you might not have all
the time you want together, but if you choose these parents, you will be able
to do all you love as angels right there on earth.”
The little boy drew a deep breath, his blue eyes again
shining with hope and expectation. He took the little girl’s hand – an early promise
of friendship and protection for the life they'd live on earth and said.
“OK God, what will our names be?”
God replied.
“Brennan and Summers”
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| In loving memory of and collaboration with my big brother angel Brennan and in honor of our mom. |
