Stories of YES #17

 

There's a story of yes right here in this tattered and torn pillow sham - the bedding set a gift from a dear friend when we were waiting to bring our beloved son Daniel home. This pillow sham served its purpose in our blessed "yes" to that boy and was comfortably nestled on his bed for the few months Daniel was home with us.

When our son went to Heaven four months after we'd welcomed him into our family, that pillow sham sat unused for almost a full year, locked away in a room full of sadness, until it became a part of a new chapter of "YES" in the adoption process of another little baby boy - our son Charlie. Well, that baby boy discovered a love for his big brother's pillow sham that we hadn't expected and claimed it as his favorite pillowcase.

For the next eight years, Charlie slept on it each night and loved it so hard that it's now threadbare, practically disintegrating in parts. Whenever I've talked of a replacement, he wouldn't hear of calling it quits with something he's grown so attached to all these years.

For our son's 10th birthday last week, I felt a tugging that it was time, but I knew finding a replacement would be nearly impossible since this set was likely discontinued many years ago. And in my quest, I was drawn to how much beautiful symbolism is sewn right into that piece of fabric that's been here in our home all these years...a ladybug - the universal "sign" for adoptive parents, and an airplane - the giant bird that took us across the globe on a destination of love to be united with our children.

Something told me to type "ladybug" into my Ebay search after I came up empty for twenty minutes or so, and it seemed a small miracle when the exact pillowcase we needed met my eyes on the computer screen. Though I knew our son wouldn't joyfully part with his old one, I didn't hesitate to hit "buy."

I'll preserve Charlie's special "red thread" connection with his big brother - whom he never physically met on earth, and we'll tuck it away for him to treasure someday down the road. And that ragged and well-loved pillow sham will always serve as a reminder of not one - but two precious stories of yes in our family. 

- Lisa Murphy