CanadaSue
02-04-2012, 01:12 AM
Had to take care of something at the federal govt. services center today & having arrived around noon, had to wait a while. I was settled into my seat with a dozen or so other people when the front door opened & a couple in their late 50s walked in. The lady looked pale & pretty emotional. The man did as well but the little girl between them who had a death grip on their hands... she looked to be about 8 years old, skinny & sickly looking with the hunted/haunted expression of little eyes that have seen too much.
The greeter smiled & asked if what she could help them with. They had an appointment, the man answered; were here to set up their grand aughter with a social insurance number, child tax credit & a few other things. Their grandchaild - did they have custody? Yes answered the man firmly, holding out an envelop - they'd just come from family court & the little girl was now theirs. Grandmom held her grand daughter close & hugged the child. The greeter helped them to seats - hard to do when grand daughter refused to let go of their hands. We all slid over to clear 3 seats for them.
The grandparents finally coaxed their hands free from the little girl's - she sat head down, body hunched over & drawn into her center, hands clenched tightly on her lap... she was so shook: "Don't notice me!" her posture screamed. But she shook, oh how she shook. Her grand dad put his arm gently around her for a few minutes - no reaction, just more shaking. He got off his seat & bent down in front of her & waited. She finally looked up at him. He pulled a small set of papers out from the envelop & turned them to her.
"It's okay", he said. "You belong to us now, for good, bunny rabbit. You don't have to go back, ever again. That's what the judge said this morning, remember?" He read her the crucial lines that indicated grandma & grampa had Full & irrevokable custody. You could have heard a pin drop in that waiting room. He stopped after reading her those few lines & waited. She said: "Does that mean I'm real now?"
I thought my heart was going to break. One simple question with staggering implications.
"You ARE real, you're always going to be real." A simple anwer but reflecting the fierce love & ferocious protectiveness we could all see these grnadparents felt for that little girl.
They were, shortly after that, ushered into an office to take care of what they had to do. The rest of us sat silent, more than a few gulping & some suspicious sniffs audible. I could make out swimming eyes through my own swimming eyes. It made whatever any of us were there to do seem so very minor; inconsequential.
Today it seems, a little girl was taken from an unspecified, (to us), horrible situation & given over to the safe & loving hands of loving grandparents. Maybe she'll quickly gain the 10 - 15 pounds she desperately needs. I'm sure this weekend, they'll but her clothes that aren't threadbare & far too small, boots with no crack in the heel. The hollows under her eyes will fade & in time, the look of hard desperation in her eyes may fade.
I sure hope so & wish them all luck & joy in each other. Sometimes, CAS gets it right & so do the family courts.
The greeter smiled & asked if what she could help them with. They had an appointment, the man answered; were here to set up their grand aughter with a social insurance number, child tax credit & a few other things. Their grandchaild - did they have custody? Yes answered the man firmly, holding out an envelop - they'd just come from family court & the little girl was now theirs. Grandmom held her grand daughter close & hugged the child. The greeter helped them to seats - hard to do when grand daughter refused to let go of their hands. We all slid over to clear 3 seats for them.
The grandparents finally coaxed their hands free from the little girl's - she sat head down, body hunched over & drawn into her center, hands clenched tightly on her lap... she was so shook: "Don't notice me!" her posture screamed. But she shook, oh how she shook. Her grand dad put his arm gently around her for a few minutes - no reaction, just more shaking. He got off his seat & bent down in front of her & waited. She finally looked up at him. He pulled a small set of papers out from the envelop & turned them to her.
"It's okay", he said. "You belong to us now, for good, bunny rabbit. You don't have to go back, ever again. That's what the judge said this morning, remember?" He read her the crucial lines that indicated grandma & grampa had Full & irrevokable custody. You could have heard a pin drop in that waiting room. He stopped after reading her those few lines & waited. She said: "Does that mean I'm real now?"
I thought my heart was going to break. One simple question with staggering implications.
"You ARE real, you're always going to be real." A simple anwer but reflecting the fierce love & ferocious protectiveness we could all see these grnadparents felt for that little girl.
They were, shortly after that, ushered into an office to take care of what they had to do. The rest of us sat silent, more than a few gulping & some suspicious sniffs audible. I could make out swimming eyes through my own swimming eyes. It made whatever any of us were there to do seem so very minor; inconsequential.
Today it seems, a little girl was taken from an unspecified, (to us), horrible situation & given over to the safe & loving hands of loving grandparents. Maybe she'll quickly gain the 10 - 15 pounds she desperately needs. I'm sure this weekend, they'll but her clothes that aren't threadbare & far too small, boots with no crack in the heel. The hollows under her eyes will fade & in time, the look of hard desperation in her eyes may fade.
I sure hope so & wish them all luck & joy in each other. Sometimes, CAS gets it right & so do the family courts.