Dear Future Caregiver
I have an idea who you might be, but I have no idea when Nicolas will go "home" with you, so I thought I'd write you a letter now to be sure I get everything down before I blink and he's gone. Here is my list of do's and don'ts for this precious gift, (you know he's a precious gift, right?) please follow this list in it's entirety.
Don't let him take more than one bite of food at a time. Have him sign "more please" when he's finished chewing. When he's done eating, have him sign "All done", he can sign because he's super smart, did you know that?
Practice what noises different animals make. Have him play Simon Says with you. Play different music and dance with him, he is a great dancer!
Take him to the park every day if you can. He loves the swings, but don't let him stay in the swings the whole time you're there. Don't let him snack the whole time you're there either, make him run and climb and play! Yes, this means you can't sit on a bench and watch him, you will have to run and jump and play with him.
Don't let him throw fits. When he lays down on the floor and starts to cry pick him up and look him in the eyes and tell him it's ok to be upset but it is not ok to throw a fit. Don't let him get away with fit throwing.
He likes to be wrapped up in his big animal blanket for naps and bedtime. Don't give him a bottle. He loves to be rocked. Look into his big brown eyes when you rock him to sleep. Pray for him.
Pray for him.
Pray hard for him.
He loves to wrestle which is great, but don't let him get too crazy with it. He has learned what fun wrestling is, don't undo that.
Take him to a Bible preaching church. He'll cry when you drop him off, but he recovers quickly and has a great time. He needs to know that Jesus loves him, that he was made for a reason, that the reason doesn't include violence, drugs, abuse of any kind, or neglect. He was made to glorify God, and you were too!
He will miss having kids his age around, so work hard at finding some little ones for him to be friends with.
Don't feed him Goldfish crackers all day long. Actually, don't feed him Goldfish crackers at all.
He is quick to obey, build that character trait up.
As you pray for him, which I'm trusting you will do, pray that God will set Nico apart, that He will use Nico to break the cycle, that he will grow up knowing he doesn't have to do everything that everyone else is doing or has done before him. He is young enough to recover and thrive. Give him opportunities to thrive!
I'm praying for you, Caretaker. I've been praying for you since the moment I found out he wouldn't live with us forever. I will pray for you forever because you are now entrusted with this precious gift, you do know he's a precious gift, right?
And so are you, Caretaker. Please act accordingly.
Don't let him take more than one bite of food at a time. Have him sign "more please" when he's finished chewing. When he's done eating, have him sign "All done", he can sign because he's super smart, did you know that?
Practice what noises different animals make. Have him play Simon Says with you. Play different music and dance with him, he is a great dancer!
Take him to the park every day if you can. He loves the swings, but don't let him stay in the swings the whole time you're there. Don't let him snack the whole time you're there either, make him run and climb and play! Yes, this means you can't sit on a bench and watch him, you will have to run and jump and play with him.
Don't let him throw fits. When he lays down on the floor and starts to cry pick him up and look him in the eyes and tell him it's ok to be upset but it is not ok to throw a fit. Don't let him get away with fit throwing.
He likes to be wrapped up in his big animal blanket for naps and bedtime. Don't give him a bottle. He loves to be rocked. Look into his big brown eyes when you rock him to sleep. Pray for him.
Pray for him.
Pray hard for him.
He loves to wrestle which is great, but don't let him get too crazy with it. He has learned what fun wrestling is, don't undo that.
Take him to a Bible preaching church. He'll cry when you drop him off, but he recovers quickly and has a great time. He needs to know that Jesus loves him, that he was made for a reason, that the reason doesn't include violence, drugs, abuse of any kind, or neglect. He was made to glorify God, and you were too!
He will miss having kids his age around, so work hard at finding some little ones for him to be friends with.
Don't feed him Goldfish crackers all day long. Actually, don't feed him Goldfish crackers at all.
He is quick to obey, build that character trait up.
As you pray for him, which I'm trusting you will do, pray that God will set Nico apart, that He will use Nico to break the cycle, that he will grow up knowing he doesn't have to do everything that everyone else is doing or has done before him. He is young enough to recover and thrive. Give him opportunities to thrive!
I'm praying for you, Caretaker. I've been praying for you since the moment I found out he wouldn't live with us forever. I will pray for you forever because you are now entrusted with this precious gift, you do know he's a precious gift, right?
And so are you, Caretaker. Please act accordingly.
Comments
You're one amazing mom.