Family Portrait
Cheyenne and her baby and baby-daddy came to work today. Jaeden is all of 4 days old. He's tiny, by my standards; smaller than both of my babies, and not half as cute. But of course not; no baby could be as sweet as my own.
Still, I wanted to gather him up and run away with him. Newborns are so innocent; so free from the guilt of tomorrow, and the stain of anything their parents have done in the past. I took a photo of mom, dad and baby altogether, because no one has really gotten one yet. There are lots of pics of deadbeat dad with Jaeden. Dad already has a bunch of kids. I'm not sure how many moms are involved, but this is Cheyenne's first baby.
Dad doesn't have a job, for all the children he has to support. Or if he does, I don't know when he works; he always is available to pick Cheyenne up at work in the middle of the day. He also has very few teeth. He's a charming picture altogether, in his ever-present hoodie and unsmiling face. Between the two of them, the English language doesn't stand a chance. My inner schoolmarm sits, tied to a chair, gagged and squirming, desperate to explain the difference between brang and brought, cringing at every dropped final "g."
Still, I have enormous respect for all that Cheyenne has accomplished. She earned her degree this year, and we are so proud of her! She wants to be a social worker, and she took it all very seriously. She's a pretty girl, and the best front desk person you could ask for. She has the right attitude, knows her stuff and is great with all the residents. She earned a customer service award -- and cried when she got it, as everyone got up and told her how wonderful she is. This girl puts her heart into everything.
Her Facebook page is full of thanking Jesus for her little angel and all sorts of stuff like that. I hope she is asking him to teach that daddy some lessons about sticking around and being a father and provider. Cheyenne can't do it all. Although, it seems her mama did. Renee works for us, and raised Cheyenne on her own, from what I understand. So maybe she thinks this is the way it should be. I dunno.
I only know that when I saw the three of the posed for the family portrait, I wished I could look ahead into that child's life and see good things for him. The odds aren't in his favor. I hope he beats them. I really do.
Still, I wanted to gather him up and run away with him. Newborns are so innocent; so free from the guilt of tomorrow, and the stain of anything their parents have done in the past. I took a photo of mom, dad and baby altogether, because no one has really gotten one yet. There are lots of pics of deadbeat dad with Jaeden. Dad already has a bunch of kids. I'm not sure how many moms are involved, but this is Cheyenne's first baby.
Dad doesn't have a job, for all the children he has to support. Or if he does, I don't know when he works; he always is available to pick Cheyenne up at work in the middle of the day. He also has very few teeth. He's a charming picture altogether, in his ever-present hoodie and unsmiling face. Between the two of them, the English language doesn't stand a chance. My inner schoolmarm sits, tied to a chair, gagged and squirming, desperate to explain the difference between brang and brought, cringing at every dropped final "g."
Still, I have enormous respect for all that Cheyenne has accomplished. She earned her degree this year, and we are so proud of her! She wants to be a social worker, and she took it all very seriously. She's a pretty girl, and the best front desk person you could ask for. She has the right attitude, knows her stuff and is great with all the residents. She earned a customer service award -- and cried when she got it, as everyone got up and told her how wonderful she is. This girl puts her heart into everything.
Her Facebook page is full of thanking Jesus for her little angel and all sorts of stuff like that. I hope she is asking him to teach that daddy some lessons about sticking around and being a father and provider. Cheyenne can't do it all. Although, it seems her mama did. Renee works for us, and raised Cheyenne on her own, from what I understand. So maybe she thinks this is the way it should be. I dunno.
I only know that when I saw the three of the posed for the family portrait, I wished I could look ahead into that child's life and see good things for him. The odds aren't in his favor. I hope he beats them. I really do.