Tomorrow is Tyree's birthday!! He's going to be 16 already...it totally blows my mind!! I always tell Tyree that he is our bonus kid and he has been a wonderful addition to our family.
How does one get a bonus kid? There are tons of ways I'm sure but for us, it happened, well, I guess it happened because it seemed it was just to be.
When Marlon was an AAU coach for basketball the team became our extended kids. They slept over often, a couple of the boys stayed a few weeks in the summer and they all went to summer camp together a couple of years. Each of those kids have a cemented place in our hearts and home forever. We'll likely always be Coach and Mrs. Coach.
One young man just connected in a deeper way. I'm not really sure why or how except that God just wanted it that way, but from the start there was something different about Tyree. He may not even know this, but I always just kind of knew that he was always going to be around. At first, he'd stay more often than the other boys. Then two summers in a row he stayed with us the entire summer, going home to Milwaukee just a time or two to spend time with his mom. Those years he attended basketball camp with our kids and served at our church camp for a few weeks. He began to make connections. He just fit.
The boys would always ask if he was going to move in. Once Marlon told me that he and Tyree had even talked about it. His sweet mom was worried. This was her baby and they were very close. How hard would it be to not see him everyday?! I understood her hesitation. So 8th grade began. That year he didn't visit quite as often, but each time he did, he'd talk about going to high school out here. We knew it was still something he'd like to do.
By the end of the school year Tyree made it clear that for him, he needed to be in Waukesha. He spoke to his mom. We spoke to the kids. And it was decided. We were getting our bonus kid. The week before high school started he moved in with us.
From the beginning I knew God's hand was on this decision. That doesn't mean there weren't bumps in the road of course, but there was an overall grace that filled our family. There were times I'm sure he thought what the heck have I gotten myself into! There were times we thought...wow, we have a LOT to learn! But overall, the learning curve for following the rules in our house was greatly lightened because of all of the time he had spent here. Our relationship with his mom was already strong because she had entrusted him to us with trips out of state, camping, for weeks at a time in the summer. And boy does she love him. And she wants him to have every opportunity possible. So do we.
When I think of our family now...I can't think of it without Tyree. It's not that there's the 6 of us and then Tyree...it's just us. We are so grateful to his mom for continuing to allow us the opportunity to have him here. I am hopeful by senior year I'll be making his senior display board for basketball and helping him fill out college applications. I am hopeful one day I'll tear up at his wedding. I am hopeful someday his kids will call me--Nana or Bonus Granny...hahaha.
I am so proud of the young man he is. He's growing into a confidant, independent and driven kid. He talks about getting his license and college...where he'll be in 10 years. Please don't get me wrong. I don't want to paint a picture that he was some thug who came in like some beast we had to tame. Far from it. But he was very quiet. And very withdrawn almost. And struggled in school and sometimes I think all of our structure was a bit much for him.
I remember one of the first times he went home to his mom after living with us. She called me the day after he got back to Waukesha. I must admit I was worried that she was going to say she missed him too much and he had to go back to Milwaukee. Instead, she started to cry and thanked me. She said that she could see a change in him already and it was so good. He told her that he was going to college and did homework because he knew we'd ask him if he did it over the weekend. This of course made me cry.
We have done nothing special. Let me say that again before anyone says that we have. We have done nothing special. We have been obedient. We have loved. And we have opened our home to someone and welcomed them as family. It isn't always easy and yet, somehow it is simple. Because it is just as it is supposed to be.
That's what I got today.
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