Today is my grandson's birthday, and I went round and gave him his present and his face lit up with joy, as he said "wow!", and then, instantly, "thank you, Grandma!"
i knew !'d struck gold. His face said it all.
He is ten years old today. Last year, he had no birthday present from me. Oh, he had a present, and then a present just after Christmas, as I conformed to what my elderette indoctrinatix was telling me. But it wasn't the same, he knew it and i knew it. He had made no fuss. No complaint. He was understanding and completely kind about it, and I felt like an absolute heel but doggedly did as I was told and tried to fit into a JW mould.
If ever a boy deserved a really super Lego Star Wars fighter ship from the Old Republic, he did, and the joy made it all the better, and then the instant thank you and the smile that lit up every corner of his face. As I looked at their Christmas Tree, and told him of my tree this year and the star on top (NOT the evil representation of a plotting Satan as I was told) and we arranged for him to come and watch The Lord of the Rings at my house with his cousins coming to stay after Christmas, I thought of all the poor JW children denied the sheer simple joys of birthdays and Christmas, the music and the lights and the nativity plays and the carols.
My family were so good with me, so sad at what was happening to me and so worried as they watched the tug of war between my normal self and the vultures, each individually charming away from a JW context, and so kind to me when I finally emerged, a traumatised wreck for weeks.
What a wicked religion this is! I would do anything to have people liberated, and have the mass of the population realise that these nice people who keep calling round are not just pleasant, slightly dotty religious nutters but a real danger to families and to freedom.
My grandson is seeing the Hobbit with his best friend and his mum later on. With all that magic and those wizards I doubt if little Caleb and his friends would ever get the chance.