Come Play With Me...

Dear Molly and Claire,
You won't remember tonight forever, but I will.
It was Wednesday. We ate spaghetti. You played with socks for a half an hour. Claire, tonight Luke gave you a gift of his Superman raincoat with a cape and a pair of Incredible Hulk socks. Molly, tonight will go done in history as your first babysitting job or the time you got timeout for getting in Sam's crib. But I will remember it as something different. I will remember the gift you gave me.
Tonight you let Luke play. You chased him and he giggled. You left the room and he went to look for you. You tickled him and he looked you in the eyes, smiling, to tell you more. You threw the ball and he went to retrieve it for you. Luke played with you. Luke played with kids, tonight, for the first time ever. Tonight was nothing special because you eat spaghetti with friends and play dress up with friends and chase and giggle with friends all the time, but, you see, we don't. You not only gave me the gift of being with people I love on a Wednesday night, but you let me see that my child may be ok without me. I've convinced myself that he needed me or Steve or his grandparents to do anything, but you showed me that there are little hearts floating around this big ole world that will protect him one day when I have to let go a little.

You know it was a fun night when this is the best group shot you got...

 Tonight you gave me a gift to show me that he saw you and felt you and connected with you. He has never wanted to interact with kids before. Really, he's never even noticed them, but tonight he was ready. You were ready, too. Your parents have been sharing Luke's story with you for the past three years. They prayed with you for "Baby Luke". They let you see their tears. They have been honest with you in times it would have been easier just to protect you from this reality. But they knew. They knew they were preparing you for a day like today when you would be ready, not only wanting to play, but wanting to learn. You asked questions that may have been scary to ask, but you want to know because you love us because you knew this was more than a play date.
Luke has an amazing family who loves him very much, but tonight you just became Luke's first friends. I am so proud of you girls and am so grateful he has two mini-members of his team to be his protectors, but more importantly, his playmates.