4 month old and 1 month old boys at La Grada, June 2009
4 month old boy at La Grada, June 2009
4 month old boy at La Grada, June 2009
It did not take me long volunteering at the shelter to feel an attachment to each of the infants with whom I worked, and to worry about how hard it would be when my days were no longer blessed with their toothless grins and tiny fingers wrapped around mine. I knew that adoptions were conducted through the shelter, and my heart went out to the workers and volunteers who had raised these babies and then had to pass them into the arms of someone else. I thought that it would be hard to let go, but one afternoon I was proven wrong.
I came into La Grada and was immediately aware of the excitement and anticipation in the air. A tia then told me the news: Jhon, a four month old from my nursery, had been adopted, and his new parents would be there soon. I suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion, but it was not sadness or worry about letting go. Rather, my heart swelled with joy. The rest of the day floated by as I continued the daily routine with the other babies and watched Jhon’s parents handle their new son. In my awestruck state, I realized that saying goodbye to the precious babies at La Grada was not the hard part of the job, it was the wonderful part.
My job at the orphanage was provide the love and care that these babies would be getting from their parents, but at the end of the day, I was not their mother. As I helped gather Jhon’s belongings to send him on his way, I learned about this different kind of love. One day, as a nurse, my job will be to provide medical care to infants, and to do so with love. But I will love them as a nurse, and when their time has come to leave my care, I will remember that I am just the beginning of their story.
