A mother’s dream and a son’s gift unite
in a special Eagle Scout project

By John Shaughnessy

Michelle Meer still remembers the great joy she felt when she held her son for the first time.

After nine years of hoping for a child and suffering a number of miscarriages, she and her husband, Chuck, were overwhelmed with emotion when they adopted Jonathan as a baby.

Eighteen years later, Michelle Meer gets sentimental and even sad sometimes thinking about how Jonathan will leave home for college later this year. Yet a recent moment also filled her with pride about the young man their son has become.

That moment also offers a fascinating glimpse into how the roots of our lives can grow, develop and connect us in ways we once never imagined.

Their family’s story started at what is now the St. Elizabeth and Coleman Pregnancy and Adoption Services in Indianapolis.

It’s where Michelle and Chuck Meer came to adopt Jonathan 18 years ago. It’s where Michelle has served the past two years as the director of the adoption center—the place where her dream of becoming a mother was fulfilled.

Yet five months after she started the job, a tornado roared past the center’s building, destroying two chimneys, ripping away part of the roof, causing extensive water damage to the structure, felling trees and damaging the playground and a flag pole.

The storm also forced the center’s staff—and the teen mothers and their children in the residential program—to relocate as the center’s building was being repaired and renovated.

Once again, Michelle Meer faced a time of wondering, waiting, hoping and praying.

Once again, Jonathan became part of the answer to her prayers.

The renovations to the building were completed in 2005, but the tornado’s impact on the grounds continued into early this year.

At the same time, Jonathan started thinking about the Eagle Scout project he wanted to do. He delighted his parents when he told them he wanted to focus on improving the grounds at St. Elizabeth.

“That’s where I came from, and that’s something I can give back,” said Jonathan, a senior at Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis.

Jonathan also told them he wanted to focus on the playground because he wanted the small children who live at the center with their mothers to have pleasant memories of their time there.

“As he said it, I thought, ‘Wow, this is really neat,’ ” recalled Michelle Meer, who noted that she and her husband also have the blessing of a biological daughter, Molly, born eight years after Jonathan.

Jonathan spent more than 100 hours planting trees, tearing up parts of the old playground, putting in new mulch, and redesigning the playground and the flagpole area. He credits Scout leaders, his friends and his family for helping him.

“The playground was in bad shape,” said Jonathan, a member of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis. “It didn’t look like the kids could play out there much. I wanted to make it a place where they could bond with their moms.”

When Michelle Meer saw the finished results, she looked at her son with pride. She also looked at him with love as she recalled the first day she held him at St. Elizabeth’s.

“It was one of those moments in your life you will always remember and cherish,” she recalled. “It was the day we became a family. Chuck and I had been married nine years and had numerous attempts at pregnancy. To know we finally had a child was just a day of joy and rejoicing. It was March 25, and we had to be there by 9 a.m. I remember everything.”

Those memories sometimes become even more poignant now, especially when she thinks about Jonathan’s plans to leave home for college in August.

“Like most parents, we’re not waiting for that to happen, but he’s very excited,” she said. “It will be a new adventure for him. It will be growth for him. For Chuck and me, our goal has always been to help him achieve. Right now, I’m going through that mourning period. He’ll be leaving, but he’s achieved so much.”

Jonathan is ready for the next stage of his life, but his work at St. Elizabeth’s has also reinforced the difference his parents have made to him.

“They’re always there to encourage me, to make me feel better,” he said. “They’re always helping me when I need it. I’m ready to get out, like mostly every other teen, but I’ll miss them.” †