My Wonder Boy

These are tough days for James. In some ways, he is better at moving than his mother and I am. By the time he reached us, we were this fifth set of parents, and James had lived in more homes than that.

So, like so many children who come from similar experiences, security is where you find it. James found his in stuff: working stuff, fancy stuff; battery powered stuff; broken stuff; and more than once, sticky stuff that gooed all over everything.

When James came to live with us he brought some clothes and boxes and boxes full of toys of all kinds. He had every game from every happy meal he had ever eaten and mixed in with those were some pickles and shriveled up fries--yum. It did not take long until there was no place to put anything and every effort to help him give something away was generally fruitless.

Around our first Christmas, we hit on an idea. Every new toy that came into his room meant he had to surrender one to give away. That began to work and off we went.

Fast forward a couple of years and James has found out we are moving and he will probably have less space in his room that he presently has. Nothing much else is said.

In a little while, James comes out of his room with his Nintendo 64. It came to him as a gift from us as a welcome home present. He had sense received an X-Box which is the focus of his attention. I asked him what he is doing with his Nintendo 64, and he looks up at me, and says, "I am giving this to Isaac. He doesn't have one just some games and I want him to have my old game box."

Wow, I stood and watched as this innocent little kid was taking some very positive steps toward being a responsible adult. Responsible adults think of others.

Yes, James is my wonder boy. And such a blessing to our family.