WHO WILL TAKE CARE OF GREGORY?
It started off like usual, boy and girl meet,
make the trip to City Hall, marry.
Start a family with a beautiful boy.
Then Mom relapses, synapses lost to
crack addiction come back to haunt her
like Jacob Marley, chains and all.
Dad bails, few details known of his whereabouts,
so Mom goes to work and leaves Gregory in the house.
When the State workers came, they found him,
three years old, still in a crib, pillows packing him in
“to keep him safe,” mutters Mom, as she is
taken into custody (so is her son).
A year passes; Gregory waits for foster parents,
but he is no poster child for adoption. First,
they see his bright blue eyes and big smile…
then ask, “Why doesn’t he walk around?”
Workers explain that he just learned to crawl;
crucial development of muscles was delayed by the crib.
All potential parents pass him up like a misfit toy
until one day, the right couple comes along.
They see him as a creation of God, worthy, worth the fight
to take him to therapy, get him walking upright.
Take him to worship – he’s the church’s bright, shiny penny.
Pastor says, “You can’t spell ‘congregation’ without ‘Greg’!”
Finally, the big day, the whole church goes to court
to support the new family, to make it legal. Gregory looks
regal in his little suit and tie, smiling, smiling…
The joy on his face, applause when the papers are signed.
Gregory was put on this earth by a sick mom and a deadbeat dad,
but he knows he can always count on his two moms.
© 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
Debbie
True story? You have such gifts. Plural. Many. 🙂 Thank you for writing what needs to be read!
Sharp Little Pencil
Truer than true. So many folks think gay couples should not adopt, but truly, they adopt the “unadoptables,” giving love and support to kids with whom they can identify. And truth be told, those kids are almost always straight as grown-ups, proving nature, not environment, decides their preferences! Thanks Debbie, for your open heart.
Love, Amy
Sherry Blue Sky
Wow, Amy, what a story. I have provided care thru the ministry for some of these kids……….it is great to hear a story with a happy ending. Thanks for an uplifting piece. It made my day!
Sharp Little Pencil
Lots of folks skip the final line’s true meaning… thanks, Sherry, and glad your ministry is fulfilling! He’s a lucky little guy, for sure. Love, Amy
pamela
Amy,
What a powerful story. It gave me chills. I am so happy Greg has found some loving and caring parents.
Pamela
Sharp Little Pencil
So am I. So many folks from that church, including the pastor, showed up for Gregory’s adoption day. You would never know from looking at him and interacting with him that he had been through that hell. I imagine someday, if those memories surface, he will need therapy to work it through, and his relationship with God is great, thanks to his moms.
uponthewingsofnight
I totally agree with Pamela. For children who need parents, having two moms or two dads doesn’t matter. What matters most is that they are loving parents who want what is best for the child, period.
Sharp Little Pencil
And to that I say, AMEN!! You got it, brother. A