Home Where He Belongs by Kathleen Moore
Grand pop sits on his leather easy chair bouncing bald headed three-month-old Adam over his knee. The little boy clad in blue brings unspeakable joy into the hearts of the family. As they sit rocking and bouncing, I snap a photo. The photo hangs on the wall long after Grand pop leaves this world.
This baby boy came into this world against all odds. Born at Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia, he weighed in around four pounds. Arriving in February, long before his due date in April, he fought against odds for survival.
In May, the little darling needed to be hospitalized for a hernia. From what I heard the procedure would be a same day surgery event. It wasn't, it turned into an overnight hospital stay. My worriment about bringing home a little infant who may require medical help on the weekend overwhelmed me. Unable to get answers on the phone, I prayed and persisted. Finally, Dr. S, a kindly pediatrician, who never met either the baby or me, made a call to the hospital on my behalf; he told me that all infants required an overnight stay after procedures. He ensured me that medically, the baby was fine and that his office was open on the weekend morning for emergency appointments.
The next day, I awoke full of anticipation. My world would change. The baby would be released and I could take him home and smother him with all the motherly love that I held inside of me. We drove down around 10am but as hospital releases go, there were delays and we became nervous with anticipation. Taking a drive and walking around a little park located on Allegheny Avenue, we awaited word that this little boy was ready to come join his family. Sometime around the early afternoon, Aunt Tootsie and Nancy, his Guardian angels, came out with the baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
The Sun shone brightly, or at least in my memory, it must have. I experienced an overwhelming feeling of serenity that rushed into my heart while holding my son for the first time He was safe from hunger, safe from being left with a six-year-old to care for him, safe from the cries that gave him a hernia. He laid safe and sound in his mother's arms -a child born of my heart, not of my womb.
My years of crying, sitting infertility doctors' offices, avoiding baby showers, ended with the touch of his skin. Adam was brought home and welcomed as our child, the 2nd grandchild to my parents, oldest male grandchild, first nephew to my brothers and cousin to my niece. On my husband's side, he eclipsed a long gap between grandchildren and came at a time when great-grandchildren were starting to arrive.
As Grand pop hands me back my son, his eyes welled. "Kassy" he said, "Never tell him, he is adopted." I just smile and hug Grandpop. Kathleen Moore
