Jimmy was just a little boy
Jimmy was a little boy who had not even turned 3 yet. When I last saw Jimmy he was sitting on the inside balcony of the apartment. This apartment is home to a group of babies and toddlers and he had just unexpectedly joined the family. Usually when children come to us they have been living in an orphanage. Jimmy’s arrival was a little different though.
Because of these different circumstances staff were a bit concerned when they heard he was coming. Would he be too big for the other kids, would he be too rough. You see while Jimmy is not yet 3 he had been abandoned, adopted and abandoned again.
Jimmy was sitting on the balcony all on his own then one of the little girls, we’ll call her Jill, came and sat beside him. She didn’t say much, just smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. I guess in her spirit she knew his sadness but didn’t exactly understand the tears. She could see his tears but wasn’t sure if he was in pain or had hurt himself. This little girl, with such a gentle heart, went over to one of the carers and said “Jimmy is crying and I don’t know why”.
The carer went and sat with Jimmy and asked what was wrong, he had tears falling down his little cheeks. He was slow to share his reason for the tears but said he was sad, he missed his mummy. When would they come to take him home, when would his uncle come to take him home? Sadly it doesn’t look like anyone will be taking Jimmy home any time soon.
The carer tried to comfort him. Jimmy isn’t being rough with the other smaller kids, he’s not being loud or difficult to manage. He seems too sad. Could he know that his mum had a baby of her own and now didn’t have an adopted son?
This isn’t an example of a fictitious story, this is real life. The hope for Jimmy now is that since he has joined our family he is in a loving environment among people who really do care for him. We hope to see his new Forever Family, true to their word and that title, come into his life and turn his future around with a new life story. Our discussion was how can we help Jimmy process what he is living through?
He’s not even 3 yet…
Whats next?
Photo and names changed
Helping kids re-write life stories and turn around futures
