He’s the kid who never listens the first time.
Or the second.
Or even the tenth.
You can pick him up out of the line up in the school hallways.
He’s the one who doesn’t walk in an orderly fashion. He runs or spins or stops in his tracks if something catches his eye.
He has a hard time keeping his hands to himself.
His handwriting and spelling don’t betray his intelligence...you might be fooled into thinking it’s all a struggle if you’re not paying attention.
He’s the one making all the noises with his mouth, only stopping when his siblings finally yell at him.
His heart sometimes breaks a little because he’s not always sure why what he’s doing is so wrong.
His ideas come out in a jumble and you have to slow way down and look in his eyes to listen.
His ideas are just too big and too fast for his head it seems and so they come out in any old order.
But he needs you to hear him.
His energy cannot be contained by walls and he seems to take up so much more space than his size.
He tries every ounce of your patience if you’re trying to get somewhere.
You might send him to put on his boots and he’ll come back with a new LEGO creation.
Time has no meaning when a new plan strikes.
He can understand stories on a level well beyond his years and will floor you with his insights.
He is smart as a whip yet school isn’t always his jam. He’d rather talk about why Sally is giving away 24 of her apples instead of solving the story problems in math.
He loves fiercely and deeply and without reservation.
He will tuck a blanket around you if you look cold and will always share a bite of his cookie.
He can read your emotions on your face and will always know who is lonely on the playground.
He runs to open your car door and will insist on carrying your bag in the house for you.
He loves to climb into your lap and wants to hold your hand as he falls asleep.
His greatest joy is making you laugh from deep in your belly.
His body is eight but his soul is much older.
He is so many things...sometimes the world wants to label him with letters and words and numbers...and sometimes these help us understand him better.
But the letters and words and scores are not what he is. They cannot capture his essence.
There is no data taken anywhere on big hearts, but if there were this kid would be the shining star.
Like all our kids he is just himself. The sum of gifts and struggles all bound together with love.
And my hope for him, and all kids really, is that we can see these clearly. We can look beyond the definitions and categories to what’s shining in their eyes and hiding behind their smiles.
And we can love them just the way they are.
Amy❤️
This recent West Point graduate is Alex Idrache. He grew up in a slum in Haiti, and he tells the story of how U.S. soldiers were deployed to his neighborhood following the earthquake there several years ago. He says their presence was the first experience of "hope" he recalls in his childhood.
He remembers looking at his dad and asking him who the people were that were helping. His dad looked at him and said, "They are American soldiers." He looked back at his father and said, "One day, I will be an American soldier."
His father knew the situation in Haiti was unworkable and tried for several years to obtain a visa to come to the United States. After being denied for several years, he was finally granted a spot in Baltimore. He purchased a ticket on a boat for his family and left Haiti. They arrived and Alex, remembering his dream in the slum several years prior, looked for a way to join the U.S. Army. He found a national guard program that allowed him to join the Army in exchange for citizenship. He didn't hesitate.
After a series of fortunate occurrences, he was given one of the few spots at West Point for prior enlisted soldiers. Despite his severe lack of formal education, he graduated as an honor graduate (top 5% physically and academically) and the top student in the Physics Department. This picture was taken just prior to tossing his hat in the air, the realization of a dream that began 10 years ago in a slum in Port-au-Prince.