Leon shaves the beard

For those of you who are interested in seeing what Leon went through when he shaved the beard, check out our newest YouTube video, and subscribe to our vlog for more video updates!!

A glorious homecoming!

The end has come! And we survived. No major scratches, no emotional scars, and hopefully no permanent psychological damage. Leon is home, and in one piece, and with a story or two to share. He has seen things out on the streets that he couldn't have anticipated, I saw some things on the home front that I never anticipated, and the experience we have had this past month was not what we expected it would be in the least. But that is another blog post for another time...

So backing up, Friday, November 30, the 30th day Leon has lived as a homeless man, I woke up a different person. We had completed the mission, and now it was time to go pick Leon up. Yes, since the second week, we have seen each other regularly and have been in more contact than we initially set out to, but at the end of the day,  he is still sleeping on the street or in a shelter or in a car if he's lucky. So yesterday, we packed up a picnic lunch and went to meet Leon at his new favorite spot, the deck park downtown (notice the wicked beard!!!)....

We ate lunch, played in the park for a little while, and then by 1:30pm, we were headed back to Southlake, where Leon's first order of business was showering! I would like to say that I let Leon sleep all day to catch up from a month of horrible sleep, but instead, our life went immediately back to its normal pace of errands, to-dos, and running a million miles a minute. Then Friday evening we had a welcome home party where our friends hung out, heard some stories and got a chance to see Leon and his famous beard! Here are some pictures from our welcome party...

We stayed out way too late for a man who had just come in from the streets, and on Sunday, Leon picked right back up where he left off at church, leading worship and getting back to his usual routine. He did shave the beard, and I got some awesome video footage of that, so I will post that video in the next coming days, for all you crazies who want to see it! :) But he really hasn't been able to catch up on sleep since he has been home, so our good friends have decided to use some of their hotel points for us to go downtown tonight to stay in a hotel, while they watch Micah overnight, which will give us some time to rest, go out together, and get ready for our early morning live interview on the Fox 4 morning show at 7:20am tomorrow morning (Tuesday, 12/4/12)! So tune in to hear a post-month interview, and look for more updates, stories from Leon as he continues to unpack his experience, and please subscribe to my blog to continue keeping up with us and hear what our journey looks like from here (once we figure that out!). And again, thank you so much for all the support and encouragement as we went through this experience. It was greatly needed, greatly felt, and we are eternally grateful for all of you! 

An unconventional Thanksgiving.

Right around last Wednesday, I was starting to question whether Leon should finish his journey. In fact, I was almost going to tell him to just quit so that we could spend Thanksgiving like a "normal" family (whatever that means). It was right around that time that the Thomsons packed up to leave for their lake house, and suddenly it actually set in that I would be left alone for the first time in this whole homeless journey. 

Sure, I have been without my husband for some weeks now (not that I'm getting used to it in the least), but I have always had Mary there to cheer me up with a joke and a glass of wine. And now they were leaving me to do their family thing (I know, how insensitive of them ;) ...to think of their family first!), and I was going to be left behind. So needless to say, Thanksgiving weekend started off pretty depressing for me. 

Now, keep in mind, Leon is walking a fine line between learning as much as he can, and not wanting to take up too many resources from people who really have nothing else on Thanksgiving, so what started out as a goal to do the "homeless thing" on Thanksgiving, had turned into just trying to see what we could do for Thanksgiving for no cost. So that's just what we did. 

Even though I was sad that I was missing out on a typical Thanksgiving experience, and even though our friends were gone and my mom's whole family (except for the Reyes 3) were all together celebrating, I could not even convince Leon to "cheat" and just come home early, even to spend just 1 night with us, because he is still committed to his goal of 30 days. So, I picked Leon up early Thanksgiving morning, and we went to a free pancake breakfast at an awesome church in Irving, which I attended for over 6 years before we moved to our current church. We ate free breakfast (as pictured below) 

...and played on the playground together as a family. From there, we headed back to Dallas, and then someone was so kind as to bring us 2 plates of leftovers from their own Thanksgiving meal, so we still got our Thanksgiving. 

I realized, as we spent the entire day together as a family, which we really haven't done on that level since before Leon left, that sometimes things do not always work out as we plan, but beauty can be found in even the most unlikely of places. And though we do not get our way sometimes, if we have open hearts and open minds, God can show us things that we never dreamed. 

This Thanksgiving, though it was very unconventional and abnormal for us, reminded us all the more of all the things we are thankful for. And this year, I am most thankful for the beautiful heart of my husband. It is so easy to take our significant others for granted as we move forward together in life. We forget all the wonderful things about them, we forget why we even got together in the first place, and we forget to let them know every minute just how much we love them. It happens in even the best of marriages. But through a simple day, without frills, without cooking turkey, and without extended family around, Leon, Micah and I simply enjoyed each other's company. We played, we laughed, we talked, and most of all, we appreciated each other. And that was more than I could have asked for on Thanksgiving. 

I hope that all of you had as meaningful of a Thanksgiving as we did!

Homeless family in a car.

Throughout this whole homeless experience, for me, Sunday nights have really been the hardest nights of the week to be without Leon. Sundays have always been our hangout nights because we are finished with worship, and neither one of us work on Mondays. We would go out to dinner, to wine bars, go see movies, etc., all on Sundays because we knew we could sleep in the next morning. 

Well, this month, it has been a little challenging to get used to being home without Leon on Sundays. I have invited myself to some friends' houses, I have stayed in and hung out with the Thomsons, but even with all that activity, I still really miss Leon. 

So this Sunday after church, when a whole group of people were planning on going to Dallas to see Leon, I decided to pack some blankets, pillows, warm clothes, and load up Micah, and prepare to spend the night in the car with Leon, as a family. 

Now let me just preface this by saying that I am not a camper, an outdoorsy girl, or in any way shape or form someone who likes to "rough it".....in fact, it is safe to sayto say that I am probably the antithesis of all those things. I am a product of my father, who, when he heard Leon was going to be homeless for November, said, "If Leon is going homeless in November, then I will spend the night in a Super 8 for the whole month to show my support!" And a Super 8 to my dad, would be just like homelessness is to Leon! :) So knowing this fact, and being well-acquainted with my inner princess whom he has come to know and love, Leon was ecstatic when he heard that I was actually going to come down to Dallas to "be homeless" with him. I was a little unsure of the whole experience, but was doing this just to get to spend some time with my husband. Little did I know, I was going to get so much more out of the experience...

We, along with several of our friends, and some new friends we met, spent the afternoon at the deck park, where Leon frequently hangs out. Not only is it a phenomenal new park, but he says that when he is alone on the streets, it can get depressing, so being around families with kids, laughter and happiness, always helps lift his spirits. 

After everyone headed back home, instead of saying goodbye like we usually do, Micah and I hung out a little longer downtown with Leon. It was great to get to spend some one-on-one time in Leon's new "home," hear some of the stories he had to tell and see some of the places he frequents.

When we got tired, we all had a restroom break at a public restroom, found a parking spot to camp out for the night, and made our bed on pillows and blankets (lots of pillows and blankets...100% more in fact than what Leon has when he sleeps in a car......I wanted it to be a somewhat comfortable car bed, since I was in this to see my husband, not trying to learn anything from this experience!), and we went to sleep, together, as a family. 

I didn't really think much of the experience, aside from being proud of myself for not being overly high-maintenance in our overnight stint in the car (and for not having to use the restroom in the middle of the night!!). But that all changed when I awoke the next morning.

As I tossed and turned, starting at about 5am, my shoulder in pain, even from sleeping in the "comfy" car, I thought about all the families out there who really do have to live out of their cars. I even found out from Leon that his family (of 2 parents and 7 children) had to live out of their car for a time, and they didn't even have an SUV like we do!

And the thing that struck me about this whole experience is that these families live and walk among us, and we don't even realize it! It is one thing to be dirty, disheveled, and walk around with everyone who passes by knowing that you are homeless and need food, money, or quite honestly, alcohol. It is a completely different thing to be going to work, your kids going to school, trying to live, eat, shower, shave, and do laundry, just like everybody else, but having to go home to a parking spot each night. And the surprising thing is that the stereotypical, TV image of a homeless person that we have in our minds make up only 10% of all homeless people in America. The rest are hopping from house to house or shelter to shelter until they can get on their feet, or living out of their cars, just as Leon, Micah and I did for a night. Talk about eye-opening! 

Now, I got to go home right after that, take a shower, bathe Micah, do laundry, and have a meal after my one night of homelessness. But even as I type this, there are hundreds of families who live like that day in and day out, night after night, and they somehow have to make due with that reality, while trying to blend in as best they can with the rest of us. And as of Sunday night, I have a new respect for those individuals and families. And surprisingly, as I have learned from some of our friends who have shared their past stories of homelessness with us, many of us have been there for a time in our lives as well. 

So I set out to just get a little time with my husband, and I ended up with an eye-opening homeless experience of my own. Here is the only picture we have of our "car bed" with Micah getting cozy before we tucked ourselves in for the night.....

The halfway point...and a message about our so-called "rules"

"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and become convinced of."

-2 Timothy 3:12-14 

Today marks 15 days since we left Leon on the streets of Dallas, and it also marks 15 more days to go! Wow! I can't believe the halfway mark is here, and I feel like the worst is behind us, and it will all be downhill from here. At least I hope!

As the midway marker of Leon's journey, I want to tell you a story. A story of a boy, who knew he was destined for something great. Not great in the way of fame or fortune, but a great calling was placed on his life. He knew that he loved God and wanted to serve God and help others to see just how amazing God is and how much He loves them. And he lived his life with the thought that if God was writing a modern-day Bible, and if he loved and served God and people above himself, then maybe there would be a story in that book about him.

Fasting forward a few years, this boy grows up, goes to Bible School, works in ministry for several years, helps teens in rough lifestyles, as well as college students, and even adults, come to know God for themselves, and he equips them to pray, read their Bible, get through challenging life situations, helps them find faith of their own, and share with others just how amazing God is. And though he grows tired from years of service in a church, where everything he does is under constant scrutiny and criticism, and in a community where his every action and motive gets questioned and attacked, he does not waiver from his original calling, which is to help others love God more, however God may lead him to do that.

This boy, growing tired, goes on a journey. A journey to find hope in the face of adversity. A journey to see what he can learn about another way of life, and a group of people whom few attempt to understand. So he sets out, amid the same adversity he has faced for some time, and he embarks on his mission. 

Along the way, as promised, God shows up. He opens this boy's mind and heart to a new way of thinking (which God has a track-record of doing). He brings understanding of all different people, mindsets, and backgrounds to this boy. He brings people along his path who have amazing stories to tell, and who touch this boy's life, even after one conversation. And as time goes on, God morphs the situation, stretches it, changes it, and broadens the horizons of what this boy thought he originally set out to do. The boy starts getting refreshed, renewed, and continues falling more in love with the God he knew from childhood. 

As you may have guessed, that boy is Leon, and that journey is homelessness.

Though we may never understand the depth of what God is doing in and through Leon right now, and though we could not fathom what God has in store for Leon after he completes it, we have been placed in his life, and heard about this story for a reason. The great news is, God gave this vision to him to accomplish, and not any of us, and I believe that everyone who hears his story is here for a purpose...there is something that God wants to teach us too. Maybe we need to learn how to be more generous with our lives. Maybe we need to take more time to better understand what those around us may be going through. Or be a better friend or spouse or parent. Or to ask God to help us through a challenging situation.

Is Leon's journey any less-legit because he now has a cell phone? 
Has he "cheated" because he broke his own rule and allowed his family to see him?
Is he not living up to a certain man-made standard because people are bringing him coffee or buying him meals (at the request of his wife)?

I would argue that no, his journey is not any less-legit than when it started. And I happen to know that even though the mission has changed and adapted over time, that Leon's heart and passion for understanding people unlike him is still the same. Leon knows what he is doing. He is not out to prove anything to anyone, he is there to learn. And this is how he is choosing to do it. Whether he uses the same method day after day after day on the streets, or whether he changes up his tactics and game plans all the time, this is his journey to accomplish something that he and God are doing together. 

So as we enter the last half of this journey, I would encourage anyone who has something negative to say, to just remember that Leon never claimed he could do "fake homelessness" better than anyone else. If you see something wrong with what he is doing, maybe take that opportunity to do it better than he did. Leon does not presume to think he can solve the world's homeless problem, nor does he try to. He is simply trying to gain understanding and insight into this way of life so he can better help people through it. If you disagree with what Leon is doing or how he is doing it, please, the take this as your chance to do better. Be the change you wish to see in the world. And if you are not willing to do that, believe me when I say, we don't have time for your negativity. The world has enough problems...let's not seek them out by targeting Leon in his journey, when you don't even know him or his heart. 

And now, more importantly, for the vast majority of you out there, who are not negative, and who do not have anything bad to say: thank you. Thank you to those I know and to those I don't know. Thank you for your prayers, your support, your encouragement, and your unrelenting positivity. Aside from God's role in this journey, it is you who have gotten me through these first 15 days, and I predict it will be you who will get me through these next 15. Knowing that we have support and prayers from so many, most of whom we do not know, means more than I can ever, ever express. So thank you for being the change. May God bless all of you exponentially more than you have blessed us.

Our "chosen" family.

We all have family. Some good, some bad, but most families are just plain complicated! Leon's family has been one of those complicated families. I have mentioned it before, but Leon has grown up with childhood abuse, been to foster care on more than one occasion growing up, living with parents who did not necessarily know how, or have the means to take care of a big family. He learned early on that his friends were the only things he had to keep him grounded, because his family was a very high-stress situation. And even with friends, he has had his fair share of heartache and betrayal.

But I think Leon and I can both agree that we are where we are today because of our "chosen" family...that is, those people whom we choose to be around and keep close to us, because they give us strength and help us become better versions of ourselves.

And today, I would like to pay special homage to one person in Leon's life who has been there through thick and thin...faithfully, unrelentingly, supporting Leon in his homeless endeavor, as well as all sorts of struggles, drama, and difficult situations before any of this even happened.....this blog post is for Layne!

Do you ever meet people in life who just seem so nice, that as you get to know them more, you find yourself wondering when their bad side will come out? Well, that's Layne....one of those salt-of-the-earth, would go above and beyond for anyone, genuine friend-kinda guys.

We met Layne about 2 years ago, and immediately hit it off. We found out right away that two of his favorite things are wine and deep conversations, so we knew that we were destined to be friends. Despite the fact that Layne is more than 20 years older than Leon, they have become the best of friends, as a result of late-night outings to Funky's, and evenings that ended at Layne's bachelor pad, drinking wine until 2 and 3am, just so we could finish a conversation.

Layne has shown so much compassion, love, and support for us ever since we first met him. He has stuck his neck out there on multiple occasions, has dealt with gossip, slander, and all kinds of issues (that we all know arise in church!) just to make it clear to everyone that he is in full support of Leon, his heart, and his mission. And now that Leon is out there on the streets of Dallas, Layne has proven himself faithful yet again. He is making himself available to Leon every morning and every evening, if he ever needs someone to talk to. He is faithfully praying for our whole family right now, he comes to check on Micah and me, and has become a rock for our family, and truly one of our very best friends in life.

I say all that, not to embarrass Layne (and I know this blog post will!), but I say all that to say this...we all need those people in our lives who offer us support and comfort and constant encouragement. One of the things that Leon has found from living on the streets is that you cannot create hope on your own. Whatever you are going through, you need someone supporting you and praying for you so you can get through it. You need people to keep you on track, keep you protected, and to have your back. We were not created to live life alone, and I think we can all agree, that friendships...not the shallow ones that don't mean anything, but the real, genuine, deep friendships are what get us through good times and trying times. So be cautious about who you surround yourselves with...are they people who uplift you, or people who bring you down?

So here are 2 mini-challenges for you for this month of thankfulness....1. For those of you who have a "Layne" in your life, tell them you love and appreciate them. Tell them today, and tell them often. We never know how much we will come to rely on those friends, until we go through challenging circumstances in our lives, and will really need their support. Why not let them know what they mean to us.... And, 2. BE a "Layne" to your friends. You never know how you may impact someone's life just by being a faithful, loyal, caring friend to them when they need it. Let's pray for each other, and truly help each other through hard times and good. That is what Jesus modeled for us in the Bible as well, and I can think of no greater example to live by than His.

"My command is this: love one another as I have loved you."
-John 15:12

Leon and Layne, playing poker, right before Leon left for the streets.

Focusing on the family.

It has been a while since my last post, mostly due to the fact that I have been focusing in on what is going on with our family, and trying to protect Micah's feelings and get a little more daddy time. Since last Tuesday, when we caved and went downtown to visit Leon, things have been completely different around here. Micah has gone back to his happy, fun-loving self, and I have been less of a drag to be around too. I think having Leon back on our radar, and being more involved in what he is doing on the streets has really changed our family dynamic for the better.

Since my last post, I sent Micah down to Dallas with Layne on Thursday morning, so he could spend the morning with his dad. Leon has also become a registered "Street Zine" vendor, with a badge number and everything, so he is able to sell Street Zines to make money (so if you are downtown, make sure you purchase one from someone...it's a great program for the homeless to make some money without panhandling!). So Leon and Micah spent the morning on Thursday selling Street Zines, walking the streets of downtown with Micah on Leon's shoulders, and then I met them later that afternoon at the new deck park downtown. Here is the scene I walked up to, when I found them that day (turn your volume down, there is some loud construction going on in the background)...

As you can imagine, it melted my heart, and I knew that Micah was the happiest child in the world, getting to skip preschool and spend the morning with his dad! We stayed at the awesome new park for a while, and let Micah play in the fountains...

And then we even walked over to the Fountain building to show Micah the fountains, which he, of course, loved! When Leon and I first met, we spent our first night together at the fountain building, where he played guitar for me and swept me off my feet. We spent the night talking forever, about life, our goals, our struggles, and that is where we fell in love...yes, the first night we hung out! So now we brought Micah back there, and even got a picture on the exact bench where we sat all night....

All in all, it was a great day. And since then, things have been much better, both for Leon and for us. Because I caved and went to see Leon, I got to participate in the coat and blanket drive that Taylor, a former youth student of Leon's organized. Here are some pictures from that amazing day, where we were able to give coats, hats, gloves, blankets, water and granola bars to many people without homes or winter-appropriate clothing....

And that brings us to today...a little more upbeat, a little more hopeful, and a little more thankful for what we have, and the fact that we have a wonderful family with so much love, and that even in the midst of Leon's mission, he isn't willing to sacrifice the well-being of our family to accomplish what he set out to do.

Yes, he is still committed to the 30 days, and thankfully, Micah and I get to be more of a part of it now.

I caved and had to find Leon!

Our first hug in 6 days, in Klyde Warren Park just a few hours ago when I found him tonight!

So I know one of the challenges of this 30 days of homelessness was for him not to see his family. Not really sure why we threw that one in there, but we did. I guess part of me didn’t want to get in the way of something he has wanted to do for years and years. So we decided that Leon and I would have no contact. We said a very tearful goodbye last Thursday, and went our separate ways. 

Now, only 6 days have gone by, and I cracked. I have had some good and some bad days, but I was having to adjust to living life without Leon. I am sleeping alone, waking up alone, going to work alone, parenting alone, eating meals alone, and doing everything that Leon and I normally did together, alone. It wasn’t fun. I had a hard first few days. And don’t get me wrong, I have tremendous support from family and friends who are keeping me occupied, and Mary, whom I see everyday...but I didn’t have my husband, and Micah didn’t have his daddy.

Micah has had some emotional outbursts lately, been very clingy to me, and has just not really been himself. I have been stressed, exhausted, emotional, and also not myself. And today, I just had to call Leon to talk to him (yes, he’s carrying an in case of emergency cell phone). I cratered. I explained everything that had been going on and how hard this was, and how I couldn’t do it anymore and that he should just come home. 

Now on an aside...I understand that 6 days is not very long, and in fact, many families have one parent or the other who travels a lot, or works a lot, and they are used to the separation. I just have to say that Leon and I are not used to that kind of separation. We are both very involved in all aspects of our family. I go to work with him and help him with all the church things he does, we both take Micah to school and pick him up, we hang out together after work....we are truly best friends and we do everything together. That is our reality, and that is what we are used to. And 6 days is the longest we have been apart since we got married. So it has been tough. 

When Leon heard how hysterical I was on the other line and how much this has really affected our family, he told me something that put everything into perspective.

He first of all assured me that his journey was not done. He was still pushing forward, and although  he had already learned a TON, he still had more to learn and accomplish. As for me, however, my journey of separation is over. He explained to me that because I was talking so unlike myself, and because I had been so upset that life had to go on without him here, I had visited the emotional state of that separation, and now it was time for it to end. He let me know that the only next step, once I got to this low emotional point, was to start adjusting to life without him, start surviving, and start becoming independent. And that was never the goal. 

I was never supposed to get used to life without Leon. I was never supposed to allow Micah to get used to life without his daddy, because that is not our reality. It was good to understand a little about the separation-factor, but that time is up. Now it is my time to not require Leon to give up on what he feels called to do so we can save our family, but now to be a part of it. Instead of trying to stay away because we set up some “rule” for ourselves in the beginning, I could now jump right in like everyone else is doing, and support him more directly. We make the rules anyway, so who was I trying to please? This is the love of my life I’m talking about...what criticism (that I’m sure I WILL get from some haters out there!) is worth staying away from the person I love the most in this world, just because we set up a challenge for ourselves at the beginning? That would be crazy.

So all that to say, after hearing that and gaining some perspective on the whole situation, I grabbed Micah as fast as I could, sped downtown in the middle of rush hour, grabbed some dinner, and Micah and I had a picnic in the park with Leon. It was incredible to see him, and sad to leave, but not as sad because I know I will see him more often now. And that gave me a ton of comfort today. 

Here are just a few pictures to share from our visit in the park tonight: 

It's official...he's on the streets.

Taking a moment, at Leon's farewell breakfast at Cafe Brazil, Deep Ellum.

As of 2:30pm today, Leon is officially released onto the streets of downtown Dallas. How do I feel, considering it’s now 7:21pm and dark? It’s hard to put a finger on how I feel, but I would have to say 20% numb, 5% excited to see how it goes, 75% freaking out!

This is the most complex set of emotions I have ever felt, and I’m not too sure how to deal with it. After a lunch with the Thomsons, Layne (who will be meeting with Leon every day and debriefing him, as well as tweeting his run-ins with Leon throughout this month....follow @CPALayne on Twitter), and Chris Hatchett, our good friend and fabulous photographer, we sent Leon out on his way into the streets of downtown. 

I, of course, cried...because it is not only scary for me to walk away from the love of my life on the streets of Dallas, but also because it brought me back to a time when we were dating, and lived far apart. He would come visit me in Dallas, but then head back to Lubbock for a couple weeks, and it seemed like death every time he left. That’s what it felt like today. But then, in the car on the way back home, I numbed out. 

It wasn’t until a few minutes ago that my numb stage wore off, and now it is just plain panic. I knew this was coming, but I thought he would have a plan that I could look over and approve before leaving me. But that was not the case. In pure Leon form, he went out there blind...no preparation, no supplies, and no plan. I, a, shall we say, Type A personality, am not ok with no plan. And therefore I find myself in my current state....freaking out (which in the time it has taken me to make brownies, pour more wine, clean the kitchen, put a 2 year old to bed, and continue with this blog, has moved up to more like 95% freaking out). 

My biggest fear is my husband’s safety and that he will be able to find a place to sleep tonight-and actually sleep tonight....so for those of you who pray, that’s what you need to pray for!

But as I type this, I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11, which says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” A very familiar verse to me, and maybe to many of you. But I needed to be reminded of that tonight. When I am freaking out because I do not have a plan, and I don’t know Leon’s plan, I have to remind myself that God has a plan. And that He will make a way out of the chaos of this situation that is better than any plan I could come up with, even on my best Type A planning days. 

But that’s not all...the scripture then goes on to say, “Then you will come to me and pray to me and I will listen to you.” So not only does God have a plan, but if I will just trust that plan, and keep moving forward in faith, I will be led to prayer, and God will listen. 

So whatever any of you might be going through tonight-and I know that everyone reading this is dealing with their own giants in their lives, just like I am-I hope that verse comforts you like it did me. It was just what I needed, right when I needed it, and my prayer is that everyone will be able to trust that whatever your faith or background, God knows the plans He has for you, and He will be faithful to listen when you call on him. 

Goodnight everybody...day 1 is over, and the countdown is on!

I'm ok if he's ok...is he ok?

The whole time during this preparation for Leon’s next 30 days, I have been somewhat ok. I haven’t freaked out too much, I haven’t second-guessed God’s plan, I haven’t been sad....until now! 

Last night, I think it hit Leon like a ton of bricks. Yes, he still feels like this is the right thing to do, but as of last night, I think the reality of it all set in...and it wasn’t pretty. He was quiet, reserved, and not very responsive to conversation and interaction, which, if you know Leon, you know what a huge difference that is from the norm. 

Seeing Leon like that sent me into a tailspin of emotion! As we spent our last night together, with the Thomsons, and our friends who dropped in to see us last night, Leon could think of nothing other than the logistics of what he would be doing today, and the rest of November. 

He had spoken with his dad (who has been homeless) the night before, who basically told him everything he didn’t need to hear...how the streets would eat him up....how the people on the streets would target him because he is the new guy on the streets, and how everything he has with him will be take from him the very first day. Yes, it is good to hear so that he will be prepared....but not 2 days before he leaves. At this point, he just needed encouragement, and instead, he got a huge dose of reality. So hopefully all those haters out there, who talk about how safe the streets of downtown Dallas are, will just shut their mouths because that is just ignorant. 

So armed with all that new information, Leon was visibly shaken, though still committed to what he set out to do. Mary and I made sure that he knew that no one would think less of him if he had to come home early, and that just his willingness and heart to understand people and take on this daunting task is enough. All I care about is my husband coming back home safely, whether it is in 1 day, or 30, and I hope all of you who are following this story will agree with that.

I realized last night that I am ok because Leon has been ok. And when he started being not ok, I was not ok. I freaked out. I second-guessed. And for the first time, I wanted him to call it quits on the whole thing. He is the strength of our family, and when he is scared, we all seem to fall apart. 

But he has not. He is still on course, and this morning, because of the prayers of so many who have responded to my late-night cry for prayers and encouragement last night on Facebook, he is doing better...we all are doing better. 

We are headed in a few minutes to Cafe Brazil in Deep Ellum for a lunch with some friends, and a final goodbye to Leon as he walks away. Prayers are still needed, and the 30 day journey begins in a few short minutes....and then the real prayers and encouragement will be needed!

What will I tell Micah in November?

Micah's golf pose, at his first golf lesson with his Daddy this week.

A very common question I get is “what will you tell Micah when Leon is gone?” I haven’t really been too worried about that because, Micah is only 2 and I’m thinking won’t remember too much from this time. Sure, he will ask where Daddy is, but when I tell him “Daddy is working”, or “Daddy’s not here right now,” I am assuming that Micah will just go on with his everyday life until Leon comes back in December. 

That assumption all changed for me a couple days ago when Leon took Micah to the driving range for the first golf experience. Micah said all morning, “I play golf with Daddy!” He was so excited, and could not wait to have some boy time with his dad. Leon took him to the driving range, and out of a bucket of 100 balls, Leon probably hit 5 of them. The entire time, Micah wanted to hit the golf balls, so Leon took 2 hours out of his day, and helped his son learn to hit a golf ball with the mini golf clubs we borrowed from the Thomsons. 

                                       

It was then that I realized that there will be a huge hole in our family during the month of November. Not only will my husband, my partner in crime, my rock and my love, be missing....but Micah’s daddy, his wrestling partner, his ball-player, and his teacher will be missing as well. While I am missing the love of my life, Micah will be missing his hero. 

So how do I explain that to my 2 year old?

Maybe he will not remember this time in our lives. And maybe (well, hopefully!) he will be spared from major psychological ramifications from this one month. But he will most definitely feel the impact of this month, subconsciously. He will miss his rough-housing partner. He will miss being thrown in the air and caught with strong arms. He will miss his sports buddy, who always has the energy to play ball. He (and I) will miss the discipline and structure that Daddy offers. 

So whatever explanation I give Micah, I will know underneath it all that the hole that Leon’s absence creates is beyond anything I could make up for. I know that single-parent households exist all over, every day, and that they actually function well. But for us, that is not the reality, and that is not something that is right for us at this point, so the hole will be huge. And the impact will be great. 

Malachi 4:6 says “And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” 

I choose to think that because God never causes destruction, and because I believe He has called Leon to do this great thing, that He will restore everything that suffers in the midst of it all. If Micah does make any long-term memories during this next month, I know that God will restore everything, and that Leon’s heart of selflessness will live on, even to inspire Micah to follow the heart of God when he gets older. And that’s my prayer for Micah. 

One of Micah’s many lessons during his golf outing with Dad. 

Our first teal wristband giveaway!

Our new friend, Kathryn, who recognized Leon, Micah and 

me (and the Thomsons) at Cristina's tonight!

If you have been following Twitter or Facebook, you probably already know this, but I thought it blog-worthy to also mention that we had our first “Leon sighting” last night! We decided, since it was Friday night, that we needed a margarita, and a dinner out, and the Thomsons decided to join us at Cristina’s in Southlake. It was, of course, crowded, the waiters were dressed in their Halloween costumes, and they had someone doing balloon animals and face painting for the kids....so there was, needless to say, a lot of activity! 

But despite our sensory overload, we saw a smiling little face from across the room, looking at us as if she knew us. We weren’t really thinking too much about it, but Leon later mentioned that he thought she had seen someone she knew behind us...that’s the sort of look she was giving him. 

We just kept going with our table seating, and then finally, she came over to our table. She said “You’re Leon, aren’t you?” ....we tentatively said “yes,” as our minds went back through our rolodex of faces and people we should know, hoping that we hadn’t met before and just didn’t remember. She then let us know that she read about Leon in the news, and has been following the website and blog, and thought she recognized us. She said Leon looked pretty familiar, but then when she saw Micah, she knew it had to be us! She told me she was praying for Leon, and for Micah and me as we embark on this journey without Leon, and that she will be following us as we move forward. 

We were beyond excited! Our first person to spot Leon out of the crowd, and actually come up and say hi! She even recognized the Thomsons too from our blog postings about them, which was really cool. 

Not only is it neat to hear that this story is reaching people that we don’t even know, and we felt a little celebrity-esque for the first time in our lives, but the most amazing feeling in the world is to hear from random strangers, who see what Leon is doing, and let us know that they are praying for us, even before they know us! Even today, I am beyond-thrilled and overwhelmed at the kindness and generosity of perfect strangers, who are committed to praying for us and encouraging us every step of the way. I am sure we will need it as November goes on! 

Anyone can purchase a black wristband if they have an extra $1 (email me if you need one!), but the teal ones are very rare and elusive....you must find Leon to receive one of those. And as of last night, our very first teal wristband has been given away to our new friend Kathryn, and we cannot think of a more deserving person! 

So thank you, Kathryn, for coming up to talk to us, and for your kindness and prayers! You have no idea how much you touched our hearts last night, and how thankful we are for people like you who will be kind enough to pray and encourage, even without knowing us (until now!) We cannot wait to give away more teal wristbands to people like you! 

Encouragement from a haircut.

Today, Leon left to get a haircut (and don’t ask me why the man who is growing out his beard for a month to go on the streets, is getting a haircut!) while Micah and I caught a nap. I woke up...3 hours later...only to find Leon still missing. I wasn’t too worried because I thought he was just running some other errands, but that was not the case. He came back with a slightly shorter haircut than he originally wanted, and a long (but worth-reading) story to tell...

One quick note about Leon’s personality: he is an artist...he can sculpt, paint, weld, draw, and do anything artistic you can think of...including razor cut hair! He can do it all. So of course, when it comes to his own haircut (which is never straightforward, but is a faux-hawk or something that requires some major texturing), he is quite particular. He has been known to tell hair dressers to put down the scissors and pick up the razor, and how to razor his hair, or how far to fade it, etc. Basically, a hairdresser’s worst nightmare client! But for some unknown reason, the man refuses to go anywhere besides sportsclips, or somewhere that costs about $4.95 for a haircut. I cannot figure this out about him, but it is one of his many inconsistencies that makes him Leon. 

So much to my surprise, instead of going to a cheapie place like he usually does, he went to one of those places where hair dressers rent out their own little spaces inside a gallery of salons-type place. He spoke to several people up front, explained his haircut, what he wanted, and that he was very particular (not unusual for Leon to do when he goes into a new salon). One girl jumped up and said “I know how to cut hair like that!” So he followed her to the chair, and began the 20 minute explanation of how he wanted it to look, how he wanted her to cut it, what utensils he wanted her to use, etc. She, in all confidence, told him she could do it, so he then began to play Tiger Woods Golf on his iPhone. About 5 minutes later, he looked into the mirror to see that she has shaved the sides of his hair on a 1 all the way up to the top.....think army buzz cut-looking, and needless to say, not at all what Leon was wanting. 

He gasped when he saw it and in his, shall we say, direct way of speaking his mind, asked her “what are you doing?!!!!” Her face flushed and she got very embarrassed, and tried to explain herself. He cut her off, asking, “how exactly do you plan on fading that in with the length of my hair on top?”...she grabbed the scissors and started to cut, but then admitted she didn’t know how she would fade it. 

I think a few more words were exchanged, something to the effect of, 
Leon:     Why did you tell me you could cut my hair, when you clearly couldn’t?!
Girl:       I’m not sure, I thought I could.
Leon:     What part of my explanation made you think you should use a 1 all the way to the top?
Girl:       I don’t know, sometimes people just come in and they really don’t know what they want. 

And after that, Leon just got up. Took the smock off, hair all over his neck and shirt, put his hat on, and walked straight out. On his way out the door, a few more people said they could fix it, but he had his mind made up to leave...so he left!

[Ok so I overstate a little...he actually wasn’t rude to her, but actually did walk out mid-cut.]

He remembered an Aveda salon in Southlake Town Square that I have been to get my hair done, and immediately drove there to see if they could help on such short notice. They unfortunately did not have anyone working at that time, but mentioned a spa upstairs that they thought might cut hair...Leon almost went home, thinking it was hopeless, and that a spa would never have hair dressers there. But he was so desperate that he just decided to try it out. He walked up the stairs to Spa on the Square, hat still on his head, and asked if anyone cut hair. 

As he asked that, he was already turning to walk out, but they said, “yes, we cut hair!” He reluctantly took his hat off, and all the stylists standing around gasped when they saw what was under the hat! It was completely shaved on the sides, but the length of the top was untouched, and his thick hair mushroomed out like a crazy fro, just with shaved sides. They immediately called their star stylist out of the back to come take a look and see if he could do anything with the ‘do they saw before them. He said he could, and he began to tell Leon how he would do it, and as it turns out, he speaks Leon’s language when it comes to hair. So Leon felt comfortable with the guy, and sat down in his chair. 

The stylist cut and razored and textured as best he could, until he got the final product, which, given the circumstances, was pretty darn good. And as Leon was leaving, he happened to start speaking to the owner of the Spa. He told her about what he is doing in November, shared his heart with her, why he was doing it, and that he wasn’t going to see his family during this time. Her eyes widened, she listened intently, and started speaking to him in spiritual terms herself, and said she was moved by what he was doing. So much so in fact, that she immediately pulled out a business card to give to him, and on it, she wrote “free haircut” for when he gets back from the streets. On top of that, she also wrote down for Leon and me to come in when he gets back for a couple’s massage, with the only stipulation that he bathe before he comes in! :)

So thank you, Spa on the Square, for the amazing outpouring of encouragement, the haircut fix, and of course for the generous gift for us for when Leon complete’s his mission! We are overwhelmed! 

Oh, and here is the haircut that was crap, and turned nice again (from the man who never takes a serious picture)....

A very important anniversary.

Matt, Mary, Leon and me, at our nice anniversary dinner in their dining room.

One of the reasons that we decided to go ahead with this homeless challenge so soon is that our good friends, Matt and Mary Thomson, have invited us to move into their guest house temporarily. It came very suddenly, right when we had to be out of our apartment in September, and it was one of the confirmations that Leon should be homeless while I was able to stay with friends. Mary has been here since the beginning of the development of all this and is one of my closest and dearest friends. Therefore, staying with her while Leon is out on the streets, gives me a little bit of comfort knowing I won’t be alone.

Matt and Mary had been going to our church longer than we have, but for some reason, we were at the church for a whole year and never really knew them. Sure, we saw their 4 little children in matching clothes every Sunday, but we never really had a chance to get to know them. Until one day, they overslept, and instead of going to their usual 9:30am service at church, they came to the service where Leon and I lead worship.

The kids danced to the music and loved the service, so they ended up staying in the second service, and everyone started to get used to “that cute family on the front row with all the matching kids.” Slowly but surely, they started learning the songs we sing in second service, and eventually, Ryan, their oldest son, had watched Leon play guitar and sing enough, to start asking his mom for guitar lessons. Mary asked Leon if he could teach, and he gladly volunteered to teach Ryan, but would not allow any form of payment...instead, he asked for quality time. 

Little did we know, we were unleashing a monster with that request. Every Thursday, Leon would give Ryan guitar lessons and Mary and I (and all the other kids) would hang out and chat for an hour. That turned into dinners at their house on Thursdays, which turned into multi-night hangouts with our families. And fasting forward a year, here we are, living in their guest house. 

Very few people in my life have I had that cliche “feel like I have known you forever” feeling...my husband being one of those, and Mary being the other. So one little guitar lesson turned into a lifelong friendship, one for which I am eternally grateful and of which I am completely undeserving.

So October 14 was Ryan’s first guitar lesson in 2011, and October 14 was the first anniversary of the “ThoReyes” family, and we had a nice dinner, complete with Steak, Salmon and Silver Oak to commemorate the occasion. We love you Thomson family...thank you for the incredible gift of your friendship!