Love Has No Boundaries

Image credit: Flaming heart is by me. 

I'm sorry Mrs. Stevenson, your husband has passed away.

Miriam Stevenson thought back to the day when two Army officers rang her doorbell to tell her that her husband had been killed.

It was a lifetime ago and she had never gotten on with her life. She didn't know what to do with herself and her time when she discovered that her precious Daniel was shot down in from his helicopter in North Vietnam. The only saving grace was, Miriam thought, was that he was killed instantly and not taken as a prisoner of war.

All these nearly fifty years Miriam still felt married to her dearest Daniel. She still remembered the care packages she sent. There were plenty of times she sent cases of toilet tissue to him to share with his unit. She sent canister fuel containers so he could heat food when it was convenient. The heating canisters had fuel in them and heated food quickly. The canister fit perfectly in his backpack. She remembered sending candies and other non-perishable items.

Miriam lived in the past. To her, Daniel was still with her. She still owned the record player that she had when Daniel got his orders that he was going overseas.

Miriam went to her desk and reached for the 45 RPM record if Mr. Lonely. Sung by Bobby Vinton. She dusted off the cover if her hi-fi record player and carefully placed the record on the turn table. The sound took her back to the days before Daniel left. They were both grieving for each other.

Daniel signed up into the army after graduating high school. He had great plans if making his life's career army life. He planned to take college courses and move up in rank and retire after 30 years with a great pension.

Miriam knew differently. She knew when he went overseas he wouldn't come back. She just had a bad feeling. She didn't have these feelings often, but she saw flashes in her mind's eye that he would be in one of many caskets draped with the United States flag. She didn't see how he would die, but she knew he would, and he would number flown back to the US to be buried with full military honors at Arlington.

She told Daniel that he wouldn't come back and to please not go.

Daniel laughed and put his arms around her and told her he would be fine, and he would write her every chance he got.

The time came for Miriam and Daniel to kiss one last time and board the plane that would take him to where he would be stationed.

Miriam couldn't go on with her life. She knew that Daniel would not want her pining away for him when he was gone. He would have wanted her to marry again and have the children that they never had together.

Daniel and Miriam used to talk for hours on end some days that they would open their home to children who had no place to call home. That dream never materialized.

She kept thinking about that dream. It bugged her. She couldn't shake the thought that she was supposed to make a difference somehow in forgotten children's lives. Was this Daniel nudging her from the other side?

Just then she felt momentarily dizzy. She didn't feel herself. Her thoughts were not her own. She felt like her beloved husband had somehow swooshed into her body. She was looking through his eyes rather than her own. She suddenly remembered something she never even knew. Daniel had millions of dollars in bonds, securities and mutual funds.

She even collected a memory she had no way of knowing. There was a key to a safe deposit box at the Atlanta Main Street bank. The key was hidden in a slight crack between the third shelf in their pantry. Miriam had been in that pantry every day for forty years and she had never noticed it.

Gingerly, Miriam reached up to where the crack was between the shelf and the wall and there the key was.

Miriam was astounded that whatever was happening to her was real and that Daniel was leading her to do something.

'What do you want me to do Daniel?' Miriam spoke aloud to her husband's spirit.

The next thing she felt was a pull to open her laptop and Search for children's homes. One web page stood out to her more than others. The home was going to have to close if they didn't get bought out by another company or miraculously get some serious investors that were willing to make a home for these forgotten children.

Miriam called the number listed on the website. The woman, Patsy Gresham, who answered the phone, was warm and friendly. Patsy was very forthright with Miriam that money from donations would be gone in a matter of months.

"In fact, we have all gone on half salary to try and save this great home. We are the only family these kids have.

"These are not just ordinary kids that didn't make it in the foster system. These kids are special kids that were born with physical and mental challenges. Their parents placed their kids here because most felt it wasn't fair to their other children to have a severely handicapped child." Patsy said.

Miriam asked if she could take a tour and see some if the children. Patsy made a call to Mr. Carl Blake, the administrator and he entered Patsy's office in almost no time at all.

Carl led Miriam to the West wing, where the two to three year olds were housed. Three caregivers were attending the toddlers. Miriam noticed two of the toddlers couldn't hold their heads up. They were so profoundly disabled it was heart-wrenching. Miriam fought her urge to cry.

One if the children, Cassie, looked up into Miriam’s eyes and smiled. Miriam approached the toddler and she held her arms up to be held. Miriam didn't even ask. She picked Cassie up and held her in her arms. It was very evident that Cassie had Downs Syndrome.

Carl looked at Miriam and said, "it's a crying shame. Nothing is wrong with this child. She is a highly functioning Downs Syndrome baby. Her parents didn't want her in that condition. They gave up their parental rights and placed here. They never came back. They don't even pay to house her here. She is free to be adopted but so far no one is interested in adopting her because if her condition."

Right then Miriam had one of those sensations where she felt Daniel swoosh into her body. She hoped it didn't show, but the sensation was strong.

Unbidden thoughts raced through her mind like a movie playing on fast forward, only a hundred times faster. She understood every thought and word being told to her.

Miriam stated she had money to invest in this home. She would invest if she could adopt Cassie, and gave some say in the clinical and financial running of the facility.

Arrangements were made. Miriam went to the bank and liquidated all if the investments that Daniel had made secretly over the years.

'Why didn't entity tell me about this money years ago? ‘Miriam asked aloud feeling that Daniel could hear her.

A great peace fell over Miriam. The money was inherited from his grandfather before he was born. He invested it and forgot about it.

Miriam knew what Daniel wanted her to do. She invested over a million dollars into the home to get it running well into the black.

More staff was hired for activities as well as speech therapists and physical therapists.

Miriam adopted Cassie. She grew into a vibrant and precocious child. When she turned five Cassie started kindergarten. She lived it. She made friends quickly. No one noticed she was different in a bad way.

Cassie taught her new mom a thing or two. Miriam learned that we are all different in our own ways and love is love. It doesn't matter how you look or what you can or can't do. Love had no boundaries.