Growing up so fast

My baby boy is graduating Kindergarten tomorrow.

OK, so Elias isn't a baby and he's not technically mine, but does the fact that he calls me Mom count for anything?

It's kind of cool to only be 22 years old and have 10 boys without ever having sported a baby bump or changed a dirty diaper. Sometimes I want to hang them by their ears, but they're growing on me. . . and growing up.

Each night when I tuck the boys in, I go around and pray with each one. It's nice to be able to talk to God together and it also gives me a chance to learn more about them. I get to ask them how their day was, hear them tell me about a goal they made or the bump on their leg that won't go away. Of course they're typical boys. I often shove my nose into my sweatshirt when the farts start to fly. I mean, give them a break, they eat beans at almost every meal and they're boys. Some of them like hugs, some don't. Some give me a kiss on the cheek and some give me two.

Manuel wets the bed and Roberto's afraid of the dark. Javier and Enrique roll from side to side before they fall asleep [They're brothers]. Anael likes to have his feet tickled. Nahum doesn't like to pray. Marvin prays his dad will stop drinking and find Jesus.

Sometimes I pray, sometimes they do. Sometimes we pray in English and sometimes in Spanish. Sometimes their prayers are short, but there are times they surprise me. Friday was Nahum's 14th birthday. He has never prayed, but he promised me he would pray on his birthday. I told him he'd better make it good, make it 10 minutes long or something, but all joking aside, I wasn't ready for the beautiful prayer that left his lips. He prayed for wisdom and kindness. He prayed for me. He thanked God for another year of life and asked for His safety and guidance. When he finished, I felt so blessed.

Friday night I also had the blessing of spending some time looking at photographs of the kids when they were younger. I walked with Tania, Laurel and a few of the girls to the home of Txus to drop them off. She has five of the girls living with her in her cottage at the bottom of the hill by the school. She invited us in and it was so refreshing to be in a home again. I felt safe and happy. We laughed at chubby cheeks and fat bellies and had fun picking out who we recognized in the box of photos.

They're growing up so fast. . . they're still crazy boys who fart on each other and have to be reminded to hang up their towels, but I hope one day they'll grow up to be strong, smart young men who will make the world a better place. But it's one step at a time, and for now we'll settle for a Kindergarten graduation.