When my son, Glenn, was five years old I was sitting at my kitchen table trying to read the morning paper, when he kept interrupting me. I remember saying, “Glenn, give mom just a few moments of silence and then I’ll hear what it is you have to say.  He looked over at me with puppy eyes and said, “Okay.” As I turned the page I came across a column by Ann Landers titled: Do You Want Him?  Nearly 20 years later I can still remember what it said.

A woman had written to Ann Landers sharing that her column from the weekend before had given advice to a women who had lost two children. The woman stated that Ann didn’t answer her well enough so she decided she would, and if the paper would publish her response, she would be more than grateful.

The woman shared that she was blessed with two beautiful sons, but in the late seventies a drunk driver hit her oldest son, and then in the early eighties her surviving son was killed in a car accident.  The only way she knew to get through the loss of her children was to write herself a letter,

 Dear Linda,
I have a question for you. I want to give you a son. He will have red hair and freckles, and when he smiles you’ll immediately smile back. He will play baseball and football, and he will love to roller skate. You’ll have to tell him three times to pick up his clothes, because he won’t always listen, and when he’s in high school he will be the star player on the team and will be crowned the Homecoming King. He will get a full scholarship to play college football, and you will be so proud to watch from the sidelines as he throws the winning pass. His life will touch many, but I just have to ask you one question before I choose you to be his mother.

 Do you want him?

There’s only one condition to your being his mother. Linda, you can only keep him with you until he’s 20 years old, and then I need him back. I promise you that while he is away I will take care of him until the two of you are reunited. Please respond as quickly as possible. Love, God

 As I read the letter I couldn’t help but stop and think about what my answer would be if I had to make a decision like that. Would I choose to have children and enjoy the years that I’m given, or would I have chosen not to, and missed all the memories. 

 The women went on to write… Little did I know that when I wrote the first letter to myself I would be sitting down writing another―two sons taken from me before their 21’st birthday, and now I’m ready to give my answer.

 Yes. I want them both.