What life would be like

These kids are so well taken care of here, they are fed well, clothed well, they go to church and to school, they go to the doctor when they are sick, it's sometimes easy to forget that these kids are orphans. I was reminded yesterday. I was holding this little guy, 

He had a fever and was just not feeling well. He started crying and so I was holding him while also trying to keep an eye on the rest of the children during play time… which means let’s see how many of us can clobber Aunty Nicole at once time. So poor Emma is caught in the middle. I thought it would be good for him to just go lay down but after 5 minutes of crying I didn’t think that was going to work, so I just held him. He had quieted and then started crying again, I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong and eventually figured out he needed to go potty. So I took him but it struck me, a mom would have known. A mom would have known that cry. That’s what these kids are missing, they are loved and they are taken care of, but they will never be known the way they would have been known by mommy. I don't know what make of this, but it has deepened my compassion toward them.