My Overthinking

Philly Area mom, Life forever changed by adoption

Archives for February 2018

Saturday night in Chiang Mai

Long after I’d be asleep if I were at home, Chiang Mai is wildly alive. Traditional Thai music in one ear. Eye of the Tiger way too loud sung with an accent in the other. Fish to eat. Fish to eat dead skin on your feet. Young children shopping for leather elephant keychains and other crafts with parents on holiday speaking languages I can’t recognize. Young children beside their parent trying to make a living from all those on holiday selling their wares or begging for mercy in any form of currency.

 


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Time to go

It’ll be hours yet before the children wake. Staying up late watching the Olympics secured that. All but one of them lost interest long before we eventually turned it off. But, everyone stayed in the room, texting each other funny gif files while sitting side by side and playing with the cats. Drew pushed hard for our own Raudenbush olympics with events such as charades and our own version of figure skating, but Lydia was his only willing competitor.

We all hesitated to go to bed when our eyes got heavy. Us included even though we knew it would just be a nap given that our alarms were set for 3am. We all just wanted to enjoy the night together before Mom and Dad headed out.

I know it’s not easy for them to have a Mom and Dad who do a good bit of traveling. There’s a part of me that worries about it and wonders what messages they are receiving and if they are getting all they need. Then I remember that God didn’t call just Mark and I to this; He called our whole family. And, He’s equipping us to parent them within that calling and meeting each one of them right where they are.

20, 30, 40 years from now, I hope they say, “Our life was not always easy, but it was one of faithfulness and obedience, and we enjoyed each other and did it together.”

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Just a little note to my Chinese teacher {advocating}

Xiǎo mèimei, I hope you aren’t too mad at me. I can picture you perfectly, shaking your head side to side when I tell you. But, you’re smiling while you do it because that’s what you do. You smile a lot. I like that about you. Maybe I’m trying to prepare you so I know you’ll forgive me. Maybe just a little. But, it’s true; I do love your smile and how often you show it.

You worked so hard to teach me Chinese. You pointed things out to me in the park–a rock, a waterfall, flowers, fish, a dragon, a weird scary statue dude. You so carefully enunciated what each word was in Mandarin. I’d nod my head and echo you…or try to. Sometimes you smiled bigger and gave me a thumbs up. That always made me feel good. Sometimes you smiled bigger and made me keep trying. I’m not used to a tonal language, you know. A couple times you said something that I was told meant good enough. Thanks for showing a bit of mercy, xiǎo lǎoshī.

You used toys and paints to have me say colors. And, I did too. You’d say it in Mandarin, then I’d say it in Mandarin. I’d say it in English, then you’d say it in English. Every interaction we had took way longer than it needed to. And, they were perfect that way because we both were enjoying it. Not because I got to learn Chinese and you were learning English but because we figured out a way to connect. You knew right away that we couldn’t understand each other, and you figured out a way to give us a common language.

You gave me a really, really good start so that I could say a bit more words than I started with. I promised I’d keep learning. But, I confess, I’m just as bad at Mandarin as I was when I saw you last. I’d like to learn Mandarin, but it’s super super hard for me. But, I really really like connecting with you, so I’m happy to learn from you whenever our paths may cross again.

“Annalise” just turned 9 years old in January, is healthy, and currently available for adoption through Madison Adoption Associates. Any potential families must like big smiles, dancing, and learning Chinese. Email me or Sarah@madisonadoption.org for more information.

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