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My Overthinking

Philly Area mom, Life forever changed by adoption

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6 more days {feeling crazy}

10.3.14

6 more daysMy dining room has been a storage unit for several weeks now. It felt like an Amazon box arrived daily with some other goodie to add to the growing mountain of supplies. Every time the doorbell rang alerting us to another package at the door, I was celebrating…a celebration that eventually was paired with nail biting as I started to worry about how all these awesome supplies (oh, like over $700 worth!) were going to make it over there. Since I actually do want to take some clothing with me and one team member (a dude, of course) wants to only take a carry-on, I found someone willing to part with an old suitcase and decided I’d make that the supply case and check it under his name.

SuitcaseCan you just admire this for a minute with me?

Yeah…

I have a lot of gifts; but spatial skills is not one of them. So, yeah, I was feeling pretty darn awesome last night when I got every last crib mirror, sticker roll, toothbrush, and stacking cup in this bag and was able to zip it up. And, I’m sure you can also imagine then my face when we weighed my packing masterpiece and it was about 5 lbs. over the weight limit.

Oh, it will all get there, mind you. If I have to strap crib mirrors to each arm and leg and claim they are a new fashion trend, I will do that. But, seriously, over the weight limit? And, I still have some little spaces in there to fit a few more Little People figures.

Ugh.

My nails are embarrassingly short. I’m justifying their length by reminding myself that whenever I go to China, they always break anyway. But, the reality is, I’m at the stage of my journey when I find myself thinking something along the lines of “What the heck am I doing?”

Yeah, something truly that eloquent.

It would be so much easier to just stay home. I have four pretty young kids still who need me everyday. My husband is fully capable but leaving him for 12 days to fend for himself with these very demanding housemates is not the easiest thing. I’m missing some events that I really would have liked to be here for. Two kids have school pictures when I’m gone [I know that is a ridiculous thought to come into play here but I’m just being honest]. Oh, and the 13 hour plane ride? I mean, really; I’m literally going to the other side of the planet.

What in the world am I doing??? 

There goes another nail.

It happens every time. 6 days out…maybe I’m a little bit of an overachiever this time. Normally, it’s more like 2 days before I go.

Allow me a little space to preach to myself a bit, because I need it.

Here’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.

Baoji park pic

Here’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.

IMG_2510

Here’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.

IMG_2554

Here’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.

team pic with flags

Here’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.

Lydia book in orphanage1

He’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.

6 more days.

 

 

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Posted by Kelly the Overthinker
Filed Under: China

Happy Sun, Beautiful Moon {just a peek}

9.11.14

Something else I’m excited about.

Happy Sun Beautiful Moon
It’s going to arrive in an orange box at my doorstep in a week or so. And, then it will be added to a large pile I’m accumulating that is heading to China…in…oh…less than 4 weeks now.

Eek!

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Posted by Kelly the Overthinker
Filed Under: China, The Sparrow Fund

Overthinking “Fresh Off the Boat”

6.26.14

So…yeah…I learned last week that ABC has added this show to it’s fall primetime lineup, a show that marks the first Asian-American focused sitcom in 20 years. It’s a comedy set in the 1990s based on the memoir of chef Eddie Huang, focusing on then 12-year-old Eddie and his Taiwanese family who experience culture shock when they move from Washington, DC to Orlando, Florida.

I’ve watched that trailer a couple times now, and I just keep squinching up my face not knowing what to think.

I know all comedy is comedy because of poking fun. But, will this sitcom do more harm than the good of a few laughs and possibly giving a glimpse into Asian American culture? Will derogatory terms like fresh off the boat become normalized? Will stereotypes like those of “Tiger Mothers” be reinforced? Will it give a false sense of “getting” the experience of Asian Americans?

Paul Lee, President of ABC, said, “It’s really sizzling.”

Hmmm…that remains to be seen.

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Posted by Kelly the Overthinker
Filed Under: China, daily life, Living as a multiracial family, Reviews

Just because it’s hard to watch doesn’t mean you shouldn’t

6.18.14

It’s a 2 minute 8 second video that every China adoptive family should watch.

Yes, it’s very hard to watch. Yes, you may want to turn your head. But, you must watch because you are now or are waiting to be a parent to a child who will one day—sooner than you think likely—face his story, try to piece together her own history, and the images and sounds of grief heard in this video should not be unfamiliar to you.

No, it doesn’t take away his anger or her desire to ask her unknown birth family why. The city shown here may be hundreds of miles away from his birthplace. And, we may never know if her birth mother or father walked away broken hearted or relieved or both. But, the more we as their parents can experience that may help us connect some dots even if the picture never will be complete, the more completely we can walk with our children and the better we can love them.

Watch the video. 

 

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Posted by Kelly the Overthinker
Filed Under: adoption, China, Orphans

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