To my Andru, on his 9th Birthday

To my sweet, funny little charmer...


You are nine today...halfway to eighteen as you proudly announced to me last night. I couldn't be with you, and that is heartbreaking. I wanted to make you a cake, watch you make a wish. But heres the thing--I think yours might be the same as mine.


Andru has been incredible throughout this whole process. He is so ready for the next chapter in his life--in our lives. He told me he is ready to be a Testa...he checks and double-checks: "I'm a Testa, too, Mommy, right?" "We'll all be Testas, right, Mommy?" Yesterday, he decided he needed a new middle name, too. He choose (drumroll, please...) DJ. We don't know where it came from, but he insists it sounds "cool". It does, too. Silly little man.


He is the bravest little boy I know. He is a forty year old man trapped in a little boy's body---always given more than he can handle, and yet handle it he has. He is...a superhero. He is also one of the funniest people I have ever met. He has this grin...he thinks it will get him out of trouble. I fear that sometimes, it will. We got him phone for his birthday. I had the perfect plan---I set it to ring "Happy Birthday" and had his foster mom set it next to his bed so I could be his alarm this morning for school. I ordered pizza for his class for lunch, and the assistant principal delivered a note for me. By ten a.m., his phone had been taken away for a week because he brought it to school. (*sigh*) Hopefully, he will be able to use it for more than a day at a time by his tenth birthday. He was slightly embarrassed that his Mommy had sent lunch in, but his love of pizza won that battle. (Go, Mommy!)


Andru, you are an incredible, strong, vivacious little man, and I have been proud to be your Mommy since the moment that I met you. I love your little dances, and the look on your face when you want something you know you shouldn't be allowed to have. I love how badly you want to be a part of our family, how you say "I love you" when I least expect it, and how your hugs often leave me breathless as you rush past. You are nothing short of amazing...and I love you, Andru DJ Testa.