A year ago I would never have believed what I saw happen at Disney's Animal Kingdom on Saturday Jan 14 2012!! You see for all the sweet gushy times I write about Tariku I never have really written about the Tariku we have every day. The every day Tariku has seen a whole lot in his short 6 years of life - a lot more than I know about I am sure. He is a happy child, but he is also a very guarded child - a child that has seen famine, and family die, a child that has seen a lot of loss and has had to learn to take care of himself. In the year and a half that we have had Tariku he has yet to initiate a hug or say I Love You, he has fallen and ripped his hand to shreds and when I try to help he says mama I am fine I am fine. So imagine my surprise when at the Festival of the Lion King Show Tariku got up and went on stage and danced and danced and smiled and waved at the few 100 people there!! Kenneth and I could not have been prouder or happier than at that very moment! Because for those brief moments we saw Tariku the 6 year old ethiopian - learning to just be a 6yr old!
Wishing you a MAGICAL Day~
Courtney
Love this!!!! So glad you got to experience this! Larkin struggles with the same guarded personality, so I know how precious that moment was!
ReplyDeleteMaking a child happy. It's the greatest gift of entertainment. :) You just never know how you might touch a child's heart. I wonder if any of the performers have any idea what happened in that moment? I hope every show touches children in a special way. It's such a good feeling. Thanks for sharing this. I'm so happy for all of you.
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