-
There are many things I like about Ukrainian culture. One thing I absolutely loved while our family lived there for four years were my children’s birthdays. In Ukraine, guests not only bring a gift for the child on her birthday, they also bring one for her mother. We’re talking flowers, chocolate, maybe a pair of earrings. This is genius! Can I get an AMEN, moms? It makes total sense. The mother is the one who
-
The misconstrued assumption that she has no language I’m a writer. A reader. A word person. And my five-year-old daughter, fourth in the line of sisters, has no words. At times her inability to speak brings tears to my eyes. Somehow, without my full approval, part of me has decided that because she cannot yet speak, she has no language. Evangeline came to our family from an orphanage in Ukraine when she was two years
-
(Here’s one of my favorite posts about my kids from my old blog) When Polly was born and we learned of her diagnosis of Down syndrome, I grieved the child I expected. I didn’t know much about Down syndrome. My mind quickly flipped to un-flattering images of a child sitting alone at recess, or a mother in her golden years walking slowly through the aisles of Wal-Mart so that her adult daughter, still a child,
-
A lot of people talk about their moods with the metaphor, “my glass is half-full.” Well, because of my struggle with depression, most days my glass is at best half-empty. When it gets really bad, my glass is all broken up. There’s no water in sight. And sometimes, well-meaning friends try to help me. They come at me with glue and duct tape and spackle. It the person is a Christian, she might say
8
10 Responses
LOVE this! And I can’t help but think that Evie’s natural mother would love it, too. 🙂
Thank you Joanna!
Yes, I have been thinking about Nina’s mom a lot lately, I wrote a post about it last week on her birthday. If only they knew that their girls are loved and included in a family. So I just pray that God will give her peace and that, regardless of the circumstances, she finds Him and forgiveness.
I love your prayer for Nina’s other mother, friend. Gorgeous.
I love this! We are in the process of adopting. Reading through the files and the history had me weeping for this woman who I will probably never meet, but is going to be such an important part of our lives. Its a beautiful bittersweet connection.
You are so right, Christie. God bless your tender heart as you move forward in this adoption.
Love it! I’m an adoptive mom too ( my oldest son is not biologically mine) . He’s almost 22, thus our adoption took place quite a few years ago. He doesn’t often speak to me about his perspective on it…may be that’s a guy thing, or an adoptee thing. But I always recall being told by the experts at that time, to not use the term “natural mother”. Guess that makes sense….because what are you then….the “artificial” mother? lol. We were always advised to refer to her as “Birthmother”, so for me that is a habit that has remained and hopefully, causes no irritation to any one touched by the adoption process. Words…they make us think at least, yes?
That’s really interesting Veronika. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I’ve been reading lately that natural mother is less offensive than birthmother, although that was what I used to say.
Ugh, hard to know. Just want to be sensitive to preferences. Maybe a mother who has been through adoption as the birthmother/natural mother will chime in.
Either way, thankful for your comment.
That was so movingGillian. Thank you for sharing your journey and the beauty of Evie.
Sara
Thank you friend. Happy Mother’s Day to you.