A little over a year ago, I wrote an essay entitled “The Mentor.” It told the story of a young boy’s challenging early life and his subsequent “salvation” through adoption. I thought the piece uplifting, even inspirational, and I took pride in my role as Jake’s mentor in the years leading up to his formal adoption. Toward the end of the piece, I wrote the following in reference to Jake’s high school graduation.
As I sat in the high school auditorium that night and watched Jake walk across the stage to receive his acknowledgement, I thought about all that this still very young boy had been through—the painful loss of loved ones, the horrid abuse of supposed guardians, the loneliness of institutional life, the rediscovery of parental love and support, and now his place of importance as big brother to others whose needs were great. It made me proud to realize that, through it all, Jake had never given up on himself. And it made me happy to have played my own very small part in his story.
I have no illusions that Jake’s troubles are over. He’ll carry the burden of his experiences with him for the rest of his life. But he’ll also carry with him the realization of what it is to grow up. What it is to not give up. And, most importantly, what it is to be loved and supported.
To which I must now add: And what it is to be ripped off and cast out…yet again! This is the rest of Jake’s story. »Read More