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“In Ah-meri-cah…”
We started hearing this introduction to observations by S, which we soon figured out were actually memories of his life in Africa! I think he must have heard something along the lines of “You’re going to America with your new family” while at the orphanage, and he interpreted that to mean that “America” means “place…
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Skin
No, this isn’t a reflection on skin color, but on skin smoothness. When we first brought the boys home, and put them in the bathtub for the first time, I was struck by all the scars they had all over their bodies. It hadn’t been so noticeable before, when they had clothes on, but on…
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How old are you?
In the developed world, we place such emphasis on our date of birth – we read horoscopes, and throw huge parties to celebrate each passing year. So, it comes as a bit of a shock to realize that for many people in places like rural east Africa, children are born, and no one records the…
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He’s my brother?
Over a year into our journey as a family, and our home is filled with happy noises of both of them playing together. S will frequently give “horsey” rides to J, or carry him piggy-back, and mostly they play really nicely together. Yes, there are arguments and bickering, but there’s also huge love and devotion,…
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Language acquisition
It is always fascinating to watch a child learn language, and many academic disciplines have extensively studied the systematic way that children learn to communicate. I wish I had documented the process with our boys better – it has been a fascinating process to watch. It’s been a two-fold experience, given that S had already…
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Reconnecting with Big Sister…
My 29yo daughter is visiting this week, after spending the last 12 months in the UK, where she has relocated and is thriving (at least financially and professionally!!). Silly Sal has been having major adjustment challenges in coping with the idea that he is being displaced as oldest child in the family!! more later (it’s…
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Meeting new family…
It’s been a month of connecting with family! And, so sweet! for thanksgiving, we travelled to my sister’s in Portland, OR – this was the first time the boys were on a plane since our epic journey from Addis Ababa…I was anxious about how they would do, but they were both champs, and loved the…
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First Thanksgiving…
There have been so many firsts this year, with the boys – we arrived at the very end of January, 2010, and our first Jewish holiday was Purim (a little bit overwhelming for two boys with limited/no English!), and have cycled through the year, with Passover, the 4th of July, Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur,…
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Counting our blessings…
The international adoption world has been rocked by the story of the Russian boy who was sent back to Russia on a plane, by himself, by his adoptive mom who apparently was overwhelmed by his violent attachment disorder…I listened to the Diane Rehm Show today on my way in to work, and listened to stories…
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Adding strands to web of my personal connections to the world
The last two months have brought radical changes to our family, and, although I’ve “written” many posts in my head – none of them have made it to this space. I wrote drafts of posts on the first three nights of our week-long trip to Ethiopia to meet and bring home the kids, but couldn’t…
