The Ending Wrote Itself
Topic: The Ending Wrote Itself
When you see Mike and Austin together, you just have to smile. They are so different. Mike is tall, dark-haired, lanky and quiet. Mike wears glasses. Last time I looked, though, he was not sporting a pocket protector. He does have a heart of gold, though. Austin is short, blond-haired, outgoing, and independent. Of course, Austin is only five years old so he has an excuse for being short. Just like salt and pepper, when you find one, you expect to find the other. I feel privileged to have Salt and Pepper as my neighbors.

Our building has four apartments, two on each floor. Mike and Austin have the other apartment on the first floor. The apartments are long with a hallway that runs the full length from the living room to the dining room. Kids love this hallway, it is their runway. I take pleasure in hearing Austin come home from day care. He tears down that hallway as if he?s impatient to see everything he missed during the day. I hear him through the walls and say ?Austn?s home!? I don?t see my neighbors often, but will always gravitate to my back door if I hear a child?s voice on the porch. I?m considering calling Austin my little leprechaun since he was born March 17. Maybe he?ll lead me to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Austin joined our neighborhood almost three years ago. When his mother died unexpectedly, his uncle, Mike, took him in. Austin?s father was in prison for crimes against Austin that are too horrible to recount. Mike became his world. It was obvious the feeling was mutual. From the very beginning of this newfound relationship, Mike decided to adopt his nephew. In March of this year, he succeeded in his quest.

Since I don?t have children of my own, I rather ?adopted? Austin. Every time I got a toy in a box of cereal, or with the purchase of another product, I put it aside for him. At Christmas, I would buy him some coloring books and crayons. They were always little things, but to Austin, they meant something. Now, though, when he sees me he wants to know if I have any presents for him. I think we need to break the cycle just a bit.

Mike got sick a few months back. When his car didn?t move for several days, I finally knocked on his door to see what was going on. After several weeks of illness, he was diagnosed with mono. Since he was very weak, Austin was spending some time with other family members out of town. He and Mike spoke daily on the telephone; but it was the first time they had been apart in two years. It was hard on both of them. Such is the trial of single parenting. Fortunately, Austin seems to be quite hardy. Aside from the scar that was a souvenir from his father, he?s quite a healthy little boy.

I learned today that Mike has bought a condominium. My Salt and Pepper will be moving. Since Austin will be starting kindergarten in September, Mike needed to make some choices about schools. He did not feel the schools in this area would do. Austin deserves to have a real home. Currently, Mike sleeps in the sunroom of the apartment so that Austin and his roommate had their own bedrooms. This was part of the adoption process so that the child would not feel as if he was a disruption in the household. He needed to have his own space, his own room. There are only two bedrooms on that side of the building.

The back porch and driveway of our building aren?t very good playgrounds for kids. The elementary school playground is not that far away and is a great treat for Austin, but it is not the same as having your own yard right outside your door. It is also not something that Austin can really do on his own. So, I?m very happy for both of them. I will definitely miss Austin when he moves. I will miss Mike, too, but I probably wouldn?t have really known Mike if it hadn?t been for the little boy who stole my heart.

The red tape Mike went through to provide a home for Austin will remain vivid in my mind. The slowness of the adoption process and inappropriate consideration for the natural father will always cause me to shake my head. An adoption of a foreign child would have been a much faster process. Mike is undoubtedly a stronger person today than he was before Austin came to him. He will be a good father. I hope Austin one day realizes just how lucky he is.

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Today is such a big day
in your young life.
You?ve gone
from ?uncle?
to ?dad?
at the fate of the court.

All of your hard work,
persistence, love, and money
have paid off.
Your sister couldn?t have
asked for more.

Most of all, your belief
in the good things in life
have saved you both.
Look forward
with pride and hope.
You have
a wonderful son
and he,
a perfect father.