Tuesday morning I wondered if - like me - she woke up and thought, "He's 5 today." I wonder if she imagined in her mind's eye what his day would be like. Did she visualize his daddy singing Happy Birthday to him, as he grinned from ear-to-ear? Did she know he would hug that man, squeezing tightly, out of sheer joy?
I'm curious if she let her mind run wild that day. Did she paint a vision of Niko's family life? Could she let herself dare to dream that he celebrated his birthday standing next to his big brother, her other son? And if she did, what family did she conjure up for him, for them?
It's pretty safe to assume that in her wildest fantasy she's never pictured the boys with two dads, living in suburban Salt Lake, with a big, fat extended Greek family where everyone and their cousin is a theia or theio.
So did she invent the "perfect" family for him? Did she dare let herself believe that he has the type of childhood she sadly was denied? Or is her imagination only limited to what she knows?
Well, I truly hope she did. Because throughout the day I tried to send this woman, who has given me so much, a mental picture: Niko grinning from ear-to-ear as his daddy sang him Happy Birthday.
Very touching, Chris. He is a lucky little boy to be loved by so many in our big Greek family. Somewhere out there is a women who has blessed our family by the decisions she made. She deserves a special blessing from all of us who know and love your family.
ReplyDeleteLaura
Happy belated Birthday for Niko. Both boys are lucky to have 2 loving parents present in their daily life, focused on the job at hand of bringing up great people. Θεία Joanne
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