As far back as I can remember, way back when, I have been attracted to brown eyes. As most members of my family are blue or green-eyed, I am at a loss to explain how brown became my favorite eye color. I did not realize this until late in life when I was stepping back in time and reminiscing over the people in my life. Maybe a funny thing to remember, eye color, but being attracted to brown eyes stood out in most of my former flames and friends, even in grammar school.
My first grandson, brown-eyed Justin, now 17 years of age, will be graduating from high school soon. He moved, with his mother, back to Long Island New York at the age of 2. He now resides in Georgia with his father, my son Keith. Keith visited Justin often in New York and flew him to Georgia for visits many times over the years. My visits with Justin were few during his time spent with us, having to share him with his dad and aunts, my two daughters. It was sad, but this is the way life was at the time.
Although Justin lives closer now, he is a teenager as I mentioned before. I never knew a teen that wanted to spend spare time with older relatives and you needn’t be much older than he to qualify for that exemption. He cannot help it; it is a rite of being a teen. His father, Keith, is married to Ruth, mother to Jordyn, whom Keith loves as his own. Jordyn was seriously injured the day of her high school graduation and those two have become exceptional parents and caregivers.
Ruth’s mother, Edrye, a retired Methodist Minister, packed up and moved from Michigan to Georgia, downsizing to a very small apartment near Keith and Ruth to help them with caregiving. I have previously written about this family and how very proud I am of all of them adjusting to such a trauma in their lives and keeping joy alive around them. They set a high bar as models of caregiving.
My oldest daughter wished to remain childless, but spends her love on rescuing and caring for animals. Paula was an animal lover as a child and her caring only intensified as she aged. She and her husband, Scott, have a house full and recently made room for a terminally ill senior dog. They are sharing their love for all living things and that is wonderful to me.
My youngest daughter, Amanda and her husband, Wade, live not far from me. It has been a long road to parenthood for those two and if anyone should be parents, it is them. Career-minded people with the goal to have a family, they settled into their home, waiting for their dream to come true.
Parenthood comes easily to some and with more difficulty to others and their experience was hard. Beginning with the loss of twins at an early stage of pregnancy, fertility help became necessary. What a heartbreaking journey that was. Some of you know this for yourselves and some know how difficult it is to watch your children suffer.
The futile road to fertility led them to adoption and they entered the process determined, facing every step leading to parenthood. Going through an agency, it was sometimes exhausting to meet the requirements and very expensive. Their friends rallied around them as they worked to make an adoption happen.
Funds were gathered, and it became time for the process to begin. Once started, events happened fast. They were chosen by a mother to be parents of her unborn child. Trevor was born at the end of 2018 and happiness reigned.He was home in a few weeks and immediately loved by all of us as he joined our family. What a treasure! Wade and Amanda are lucky, but so is Trevor. You cannot help but fall in love with a child. There was no difference in our love had he been born of our blood. I wish adoption were not so difficult and expensive. I’m sure they are protecting the child, but there are so many people out there willing and wanting to be parents and so many little ones needing a home and parental love. It is such a blessing that we were chosen for this precious brown-eyed baby. Trevor is only a few months old and due to eye color changing, I was told that they did expect those dark blue eyes to turn brown, but at the moment, I was jumping the gun! I expect they will turn brown and am holding out that we will have two brown-eyed loves in our lives. I will let you know if that does not happen. I believe it will.
