the game of hard knocks

This is Patrisha, our adopted grand daughter, the child of a long ago 6th grade student that has always stayed in touch. Now he is a man, a husband and a father, it was just natural that his daughter become a significant part of our family.

I have spent the better part of these last four days holding her and wiping away her tears. Her mother was very young when she had our little pookie and now she has decided to wildly pursue life, leaving motherhood, 3 children and her husband behind. Patrisha has been shuffled from one home to the next and is currently living in an apartment, with no furniture but a bed. I can't even imagine the rejection she is feeling. My own mother loved me always, no matter what and I am who I am because of her. The pain in Patrisha's eyes cut me to the core.

We did many things while she was here, but one of her favorite board games has always been the game of "Life"...we had our own rules and it was always fun to fill our little plastic cars with pink or blue children, change our careers from janitors to doctors, to movie stars and buy the houses of our dreams. We would giggle when our husbands and children fell out of our cars as we moved around the board, but the thing that has always been a staple was the happy endings. This time, I saw tears well up in her eyes each time a baby was born, or one would accidentally fall out of the little plastic car.

She is only 10
and already understands that "Life" doesn't always end up in a great big house with a car full of children and a mommy that stays in the drivers seat.