Allright, another Mark post...
My friends in the videogame industry have been coming through for Mark's family: My buddy at Disney sent along a dozen movies and 8 Wii games, and even a few Playstation games too... it was an amazingly generous package that the family couldn't believe. And my friend Caesar at Microsoft is putting together a package of games for the XBox 360 - including Halo3...
Well, they didn't have a 360, and I do remember Mark talking about how much he wanted to get one... and it was on his list for Christmas. So I just decided to pick one up for them - since there would be games coming... and Max SOOOOO wanted one.
I brought it by tonight, and I kept it quiet for a good 20 minutes while I played with Eve, and checked in with the rest of the kids. We had a really nice time, talking and laughing - lots of goofing around. Then I brought out the box, and Max almost fell over, so we had to hook it up immediately. I should point out that I did clear it with Samantha beforehand, so it was cool by her.
Max was fully planning to bring the manual in to school to show all of his friends. He was so crazy excited! But at the same time, he kept the conversations going too, not disappearing into the game. I found out how school is going, and related my relevant stories about German, and the horrors of Sadie Hawkins dances, which made Chloe laugh. We talked about robotics classes, and I bragged about Tyler's prowess at both programming AND making with the ladies in his genius move of writing a program to ask out a girl. (I will note: Chloe is into robots and German. And that just makes my heart glad)
It was a really nice visit, but as I got ready to leave, my heart just fell, because I realized that for just a moment, without really setting out to do so, I was being a dad, holding Eve who was getting sleepy, offering guidance to the kids, helping Samantha with computer stuff... and just being there.
It made me realize that while I did bring them a gadget that they will enjoy, the more important thing I brought was company, and laughter, and love.
As I left I suddenly wanted to stay - to keep being there for them, to fill that void in their lives. And it made me sad for Mark all over again. I had a good long hug before going out... and I'll be back again, because I love that family, and want to do whatever I can do to help.
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You are carrying on a tradition of friendship and "father". My heart is so full reading your story. Thank you for your faithfulness to to this family and your own. Two things come to mind: a beautiful fairy tale told by one of the master tellers the Black Storytelling Alliance brought in for this weekends festival in North Mpls - he carefully wove into the story of the little girl who had a mermaid foster mother into his own story of his family's diaspora - (a litany of when you do this - "things CHANGE" - and finally his own mother's disappearance and his going into foster care. "We all have other mothers." And the audience rocked with "Yes, this is how we go on." Finally, a story you will hear as part of Ruthie's story tomorrow - one Christmas party with the orphans near the base- Ruthie writes home: and the boys who had children at home, well, they had them crawling all over them. The boys needed those kids as much as the kids needed our boys. Keep up the love.
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