James's name was sent to me after one of the families that we tried to adopt had already been contacted by someone else. I didn't know what to expect because he didn't write anything on his application other than "low income". Didn't matter I still picked up the phone and called him. A soft spoken gentleman answered the phone and after introducing myself he started to tell me his story.
James is in his late 60's and about 6 years ago he and his wife took in his 3 month old granddaughter. They thought that is would only be for a few weeks. Well a few weeks turned into almost 2 years that they cared for their granddaughter. When the parents were ready to take back the little girl it broke his wife's heart and she ended up leaving him. I was not told what happened with his granddaughters parents just that they were "gone" for that long.
Here we are 4 years later and James lives alone in a VOA Senior Apartment Complex. He doesn't have a lot, not a couch or loveseat, but he does have a couple of chairs and someone just recently gave him a TV so now he can let his granddaughter watch her favorite show when she comes over. Most of the conversation we had was about his granddaughter, how she comes over every weekend and how much he adores her. Unfortunately the parents are "gone" again and James could not take her in full time but he looks forward to his special weekends with her.
I usually make arrangements to take families and seniors shopping but James asked if I would shop for him and bring it to his apartment. Not a problems especially since I had another Senior named Beverly who I was shopping with today and lived right down the hall from James.
When I got to James's apartment he invited me in. I gave the bags we had for him, 3 pairs of jeans, 4 shirts, some cookies for him, a box of fruit snacks for his granddaughter and a Frozen Doll for him to give to his granddaughter for Christmas. When he saw the doll he started crying. He said that he has always wanted to get her what she wanted for Christmas and he was sure that this doll would make her happy.
As I was leaving he gave me a big hug and said Thank You to all the people involved in making his life better. For me this was a special trip especially when I hugged him and saw the wall with many picture frames full of pictures of him in the Navy. I didn't know that James was a veteran until I was ready to leave. I wished him a Merry Christmas and thanked him for his service. What a proud man and gentle soul this man was.
James is in his late 60's and about 6 years ago he and his wife took in his 3 month old granddaughter. They thought that is would only be for a few weeks. Well a few weeks turned into almost 2 years that they cared for their granddaughter. When the parents were ready to take back the little girl it broke his wife's heart and she ended up leaving him. I was not told what happened with his granddaughters parents just that they were "gone" for that long.
Here we are 4 years later and James lives alone in a VOA Senior Apartment Complex. He doesn't have a lot, not a couch or loveseat, but he does have a couple of chairs and someone just recently gave him a TV so now he can let his granddaughter watch her favorite show when she comes over. Most of the conversation we had was about his granddaughter, how she comes over every weekend and how much he adores her. Unfortunately the parents are "gone" again and James could not take her in full time but he looks forward to his special weekends with her.
I usually make arrangements to take families and seniors shopping but James asked if I would shop for him and bring it to his apartment. Not a problems especially since I had another Senior named Beverly who I was shopping with today and lived right down the hall from James.
When I got to James's apartment he invited me in. I gave the bags we had for him, 3 pairs of jeans, 4 shirts, some cookies for him, a box of fruit snacks for his granddaughter and a Frozen Doll for him to give to his granddaughter for Christmas. When he saw the doll he started crying. He said that he has always wanted to get her what she wanted for Christmas and he was sure that this doll would make her happy.
As I was leaving he gave me a big hug and said Thank You to all the people involved in making his life better. For me this was a special trip especially when I hugged him and saw the wall with many picture frames full of pictures of him in the Navy. I didn't know that James was a veteran until I was ready to leave. I wished him a Merry Christmas and thanked him for his service. What a proud man and gentle soul this man was.
