November 20, 2007

4 Thoughts, 1 Post

We have an exciting post, a still waiting post, an Amharic update post, and an odd question post all of which surfaced today. Each of these thoughts likely warrant their own posting, but it's a short work week and I'm very much so looking forward to the long holiday weekend so I'm going to keep this short and sweet!

Exciting
* We received our first clothing purchase for Bean in the mail today. It's a onsie (6-12 months, hopefully will fit!) produced by American Apparel as part of their Bella {Muse} series and has a scribbled line that says "Artist" underneath. Adorable.



Waiting
* We're still waiting for the I-171H. It is the last form we need before our dossier can be sent to Ethiopia and we can begin officially waiting for a referral. We were fingerprinted 18 days ago and were hoping that this form would arrive before Thanksgiving. One more mail day... come on Postman!

Amharic
* Our adoption consultant notified us today that CHI may be offering Amharic classes in our area in the near future! YEAH!!! This is definitely something we would participate in and have recently begun the search for an Amharic tutor so this is great timing. No number of books, DVD's, or colorful beanbags could possibly be as affective as an actual agency sponsored/recommended language tutor and/or class. Very exciting, CHI is amazing!

Odd Question
* I was randomly asked this question by a close-to-complete stranger today who happened to know about our adoption via having worked with my husband recently:

"Are you planning on having your own kids after adopting?"

Are you kidding me? Not only was this my first time exchanging anything other than a quaint "hello" with this person (which was evidently enough for him to feel justified inquiring about our personal family matters including reproductive habits) but what exactly did he mean by "my own" children? My response didn't even come close to the thoughts that were bubbling inside my head at the time, but the moment he asked the question has been haunting my thoughts ever since. I know we're going to encounter far more disturbing situations and we're doing our best to educate ourselves on the best way to handle them, however we'll never cease to find them disturbing nor would we ever want to. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm by asking what I'm sure he thought was a simple question, however not only was it not simple but completely ill-stated and very personal as well. I definitely need to better prepare myself for similar future encounters.

3 comments:

CLICNOTICIASAMAZONIA said...
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Gamma! said...

Good morning! Happy Birthday honey! I was a snowy Thanksgiving week that you came into our world xx years ago (just in case you don't want the world to know!). We spent Thanksgiving day in the hospital overlooking the highway and eating hospital food - yum! But none of that mattered - YOU were the most important person in our world at that moment - and the joy of introducing you to your big sister (who was more interested in playing with Mary and Eva) and the rest of the family. I remember it like it was yesterday (and that's amazing for me who has trouble remembering anything these days!) Thank you for all you are and are becoming that has brought so much energy and joy to our family. I love you!

Thanks for helping me jump start my day (which will be very busy preparing for Thanksgiving Dinner) but to be able to start my day with your thoughts! You always give me much to think about - but this one takes no thought. There are many unthinking and very rude people out there, and I suggest you come up with a pat answer in circumstances such as this.

I'm praying your mailman brings you the package you so desire today - now THAT would be a birthday present! I love you all - this time next year Baby Bean will be part of our celebrating! Yea! mom/gamma

Dan, Misty & Ashar said...

After hearing similar questions from well meaning friends and strangers, I came to the same conlusion that you did. I have to be better prepared. People will ask and prod and most of the time, they are just curious, or don't know what to ask. I have concluded, like you, that they don't mean any harm, and that I will certainly not be able to control other people's responses, only my own. With that in mind, I have adopted a "Laughter is best policy!" When all else fails, we will just laugh and not get offended. (Of course I'm saying that now...before the big hitters come in full force!)But I think that it will ultimately save us a lot of frustration in the long run! Happy Thankgiving!!