Orphan Behavior

I keep forgetting.

It daily slips my mind.
When I look at them
I don't see it.

I keep forgetting.
where.
they.
came.
from.

I'm thinkin that's good.
I don't watch them bound down the stairs each morning and think to myself,
"Look! My two little former orphans! How cute!"

Nope.
Nevah.
The fact escapes me
often.

If I hadn't picked them up myself I wouldn't believe that they have only been here for four months.
Nope.
Not at'all.

So yes,
I keep forgetting.

Until things like this happen.



We are moving to wherever the AF sends us.
Soon.
Like soon-soon.

I asked them to pack up their legos so that we could take them to the hotel
and they instead managed to unearth all sorts of treasures that they had hidden away.

Yep.
Orphan behaviors.
Front and center.

They hoard.
They don't steal.
They don't hide food
but the things they manage to pillage
amaze me. 
It fascinates me really.
what they deem important or worthy of keeping.
Course it wasn't until this afternoon that I realized
it's all important apparently.


Take this for instance

that's a "baseball".
A baseball made of one sheet of crumpled up printer paper covered in packing tape.
That was their "China baseball."
Furthermore, it's wrapped in a clear cellophane wrapper they pillaged from somewhere in the house.
This is special to them.

Then there's the random strands of Easter grass.
Special.

Broken bouncy ball.
Special.



Sheet of paper that they practiced their multiplication tables on 2 months ago.
Special.



Broken pencil.
Special.

All of it.
Special.



Go ahead.
Let your heart break.
I'll wait.

So when I sat down with them and gently told them that we should take a look and see if anything in there could be trash here was the result



Yep.
It's all still there.
NONE of this is trash to them.
Not the remaining plastic part of a ring pop
not the 3 month old happy meal toy
not the broken plastic mini frisbee
nope
nuthin.
No.Thing. is trash.

Then there's this.
This is what it looks like under their pillows.

 ~sigh~

So here we are
very close to a move
and my very typically organized self
is taking a deep breath.
The baseball wrapped in trash will move with us
as will the plastic ring pop piece
all of it.
It will come.

But more importantly
so
will
they.

And though for now they view their trinkets as special
soon enough
they truly and fully will grasp how very special they are.
Can't.Wait.For.That.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal but store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven. Matthew 6:19-20.