Smack dab in the middle of my card I have written "A friend for Ransom" it is circled. For artistic reasons. But tonight, I wish I had UNDERLINED IT IN BOLD.
This prayer has been on the table since we moved to San Antonio almost a year ago ( I can't believe it'll be a year in March!!), and while some days it has seemed more pressing than others ( like when Ransom talks about the little boy he met at the park for DAYS after being there or when he stands back and watches a large group of kids at the sandbox)...but having him attend school twice a week has helped, and having almost monthly visits to our home town where he has cousins to play with has also helped. But it has stayed on my mind. I can not let it go.
Yesterday we were outside riding bikes when Ransom noticed a little girl on a scooter down the street...and he HIGH TAILS IT DOWN THE BLOCK, yelling "Let's go meet the other children!"
And so, I swept up Tabitha, barefoot and sippy cup in hand and we trekked down the street looking like total loonies. But we met a very friendly little girl named "Abby" who was 9 and her brother Caleb who was almost 6 and in the 20 minutes I stood talking to their mom, Ransom got in trouble for riding his bike further than he is allowed and got invited to watch Abby's new bedroom TV. ( um. no). He also got to play "baseball" with them in the front yard which was almost impossible to tear him away from when I remembered that we had literally left dinner in the middle of preparation to meet our new neighbors. And so, while I was thinking how difficult it is that all the children we currently know are so much older than he is.....it was established in Ransom's mind that we would be playing baseball with them the very next day!! FOR EVER AND ALWAYS
He talked about it all evening, asking me when we could go over to their house again.
I told him that we could walk down to visit soon...
So, today came. Ransom's first thought was about playing baseball with his new friends. We took a morning walk to see if they were around. No luck. It was cloudy and raining anyway....I promised him we'd go "see if they were home" after his nap.
Well as you can imagine after his nap his FIRST WORDS were: "Do you think our friends are awake too?!"
He then sat with Tabitha's baby monitor waiting for her to wake so we could go.
Now, honestly, Ransom gets excited about just about MOST THINGS. Going to the store? He's excited. Going for a walk? He's excited. Going to the dentist? He's excited. He's like a labrador puppy. So really I wasn't paying too much attention to his excitement until he gathered up all his baseball gear.
His hat.
His glove.
His baseball bat.
uh-oh.
I started to prepare him for disappointment.
"If our friends aren't home, we'll play baseball together, ok?!"
But the damage was done. He could not hear me through his expectations.
So you can imagine the fallout when our neighbors were actually gone.
And you will hopefully not fault me that I dropped everything and piled Tabitha and Ransom into the car to drive to a park. ANY PARK. At that point I didn't care. I figured God would at least give us SOMEONE who likes to attend parks in the evening on a beautiful 70 degree Sunday night....SURELY GOD WOULD DO THAT!!!
Annnnnnnd the car wouldn't start.
So, dear friends, here we are....later in the evening, my son was pretty easily soothed with Toy Story 2 ( he rarely gets to watch movies, score.) and pasta for dinner. We ended the night playing "bad guys" with his drill and screw driver. And now I lie here in bed, asking God for a friend.
I guess I need to pray that I will make a friend, because let's be honest, at 3 years old....its the mom's who are making the play dates. I need a friend with a little boy who knows all about obeying their parents ( we don't need bad habits just quite yet), who likes to play cars and super heros and firetrucks and who doesn't mind that pants are optional.
I'm realizing as my little dude gets older that some things are harder than I thought they'd be. Toy Story 2 and pasta did not ease my heart the same way it did his. I hurt for his little heart and I pray that we both find friends soon.
The positive here is that God knows my prayers. And He knows how long I've been praying for this. He also has perfect timing. So I look forward to updating my blog about this topic when we have a 3 year old little friend to play baseball with.
4 comments:
Wow...so different from my life right now. With all of his older siblings, and isolation in the winter (drs orders) it has never once crossed my mind that Apollo needs a friend. Me? I've had many years where I was lacking a mom friend...I'll keep you and Ransom in my prayers.
I am sure there are several little boys waiting to be Ransom's friends in a nearby Baptist church's 2-3 year old Sunday School class and their moms are in the young married class. Check it out. You may also find that they are friendly and like-minded. Always a good place to look for friends.
This is probably going to sound completely crazy, but I have been praying for this exact same thing - not only a friend for Jacob (a 3 year old little boy who loves all of the things he does), but a friend for me, too!! I was just talking to Dan about this after our trip to the park the other day... we have so many things in common (I have been reading through your blog to get to know you a little better, and we are very like-minded - sorry if that's creepy!). I am just so glad to have met you. I don't usually put myself out there - I'm just very shy, and tend to keep to myself. It's hard for me to make friends, and, onestly, I have been desperate to find a Mom to just be able to talk to, be myself around, and learn more about God, friendship, and Motherhood with. This stage of life, working to raise two young babies can be pretty lonely at times... throw military life on top of it, and it can be easy to feel even more alone! I truly feel like your family is an answer to my prayers, and I hope that doesn't scare you away!! God is amazing. I also hope you don't get put off with me for my flakiness, and the craziness of our first impressions... we will all be a little more put together once we get settled and back into a new normal/routine. I pray that our sons have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other better, and that you and I do, too! I hope to sign Jake up for t-ball this fall... maybe the boys can play baseball together? - Courtney
PS - just noticed I missed the 'h' in 'honestly', and that drives me crazy! :-P Also - your reaction to the girl's invitation to watch her new bedroom TV made me laugh! I would be the same way!
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