It Only Takes A Spark

Okay, I've got to be better at posting the positive things that I get to witness as a foster parent.  This is one of them!

 I actually think this it's the first he has ever crafted or made something in his entire ten (almost eleven) years of life. I mean, outside of any kind of crafty activities he has done in public school, I think this is the actual first time my foster son has crafted his own toy.  

When he first moved here four-and-a-half months ago, he would get extremely jealous of Micah and all his creations. My foster son would make insulting remarks about his own ability and throw the tools down muttering, "I suck at this. This is stupid. I don't know how to do anything." Of course I'd try to persuade him that none of those negative comments were true but he'd stomp off and absolutely  refuse to listen. I guess after a decade of being babysat 24/7 by video games and television, anyone's self-esteem is bound to struggle. 

This is just a little wooden home he made from an old torn-apart bird house.  On the right is a little traveling box he painted for his two Playmobile guys.  I also showed my foster son how to use my wood-burning tool, which he loved.  It's great to see him discover the fun he can have away from a screen in his face.  He played with this for several hours with Micah. 

Of course, Micah created his own hut too and made a campfire out of paper and markers. It was the perfect place for their Playmobile guys to hang out.

My foster son was so proud of what he made that the next day he took his little wooden house with him to his parent visit to show his mom.  It's so great to see him get a spark of confidence. And that's all it really takes.

-Alicia

Holding on to Peter Pan

Yesterday, I watched my 10-year-old son, Micah, with amusement as he played music from Pirates of the Caribbean and decked himself out with scraps of clothing to resemble official pirate garb.  He constructed his ship by gathering chairs from the kitchen into the living room and carefully assembled them so all the backs were facing outward and the seats combined made a solid bed.  His treasure maps were made from the sides of brown paper bags crumpled several times over to make them look aged.   A rope tied around a 10 lb exercise dumbbell dragging over the side became the perfect anchor.  He proudly climbed into his ship as if he were to set sail and then stopped himself, quickly running to the computer to change the music.  "What are you looking up?" I asked him.  "You'll see," he said.  I couldn't stay to watch because I had to run my daughter, Miriam, to the school she attends once a week.

I wasn't gone long and returned to find Micah still playing.  Now, the living room was full of the sound of "relaxing ocean waves." (Apparently there's a YouTube video that plays this for ten straight hours. Who knew?) On the computer screen was a photograph of a distant island floating at sea.  Micah was perched at the edge of the chairs like a captain at the helm and surveyed the tiny island carefully with his periscope.  Kaylee sat "in the ship" proud to be along for the adventure. A bandanna was loosely tied around her head, making her the prettiest pirate I've ever seen.  The magic of it all had captured her too.

Their imaginations filled me with a longing to be a child again.  Marveling at the enchanted pirate world Micah had created, I thought of Peter Pan and smiled.  My heart prayed for my kids, "I hope you never grow up and never lose your sense of wonder."

I regret that I didn't capture this moment with pictures but I guess it's alright because I'm capturing it now with words.

However, a few days earlier Micah made a flying machine and I did get some pictures and videos of that.  :)

-Alicia