How far away?
Last night my oldest (age 5) asked if she could go see elephants. I asked her "where did elephants come from"? She answered "America?" I answered "no, elephants come from either Africa or Asia".
Would you like to go see an elephant where they live?
"Oh yes" she relied enthusiastically, "let's go to Africa, how far is it"?
"How far do you think it is"? I asked.
"two hours" came the questioning reply.
"No, I said, more like two days, and we would have to fly there."
Her response - "would it be bed time when we got there?"
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Some conversations with my youngest – thoughts of a two year old.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh punkinpatch.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh pony wide
Daddy?
Yes child?
Punkin patch cwosed
No pony wide
Yes child, the pumpkin patch is closed, so we can’t go on a pony ride.
Daddy?
Yes child?
I sad
Why child?
Miss gwama.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Sit down daddy sit down,
Child, I need to get ready for work.
Help, daddy, help.
Child, you can eat by yourself.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh gimpa house
See uncle david.
Yes child we will go to grampa’s house and see uncle David later.
See josh?
Yes child, we will see Joshua.
See geema?
Yes child we will see Gramma
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh Punkin.
Yes child, that is a pumpkin.
Halloween.
Yes child, we painted pumpkins at holloween.
Marta monster.
Yes child, our friend Marta was dressed as a troll.
Sarah,
Yes we saw Sarah.
Char
Yes we saw Charles.
Leena daddy
Yes we saw Leena’s daddy and mommy.
Twick an tweet
Yes we went trick or treating
Yike candy
Yes I know you like candy, but you may not have any now.
OK daddy.
Daddy?
Yes child
See doctor?
Yes child, I am going to the doctor, and you are going with me.
Get sticker.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Go eat?
Yes child, we are going out to eat.
No doctor?
No we are not going to the doctor.
Go eat?
Yes child we are going to eat.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh eat!
Wead daddy Wead,
Ok, we can read this book.
Daddy, see scarecwow
Yes, that is a scarecrow
Snowman
Yes, there is a snowman
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh punkinpatch
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh punkinpatch.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh pony wide
Daddy?
Yes child?
Punkin patch cwosed
No pony wide
Yes child, the pumpkin patch is closed, so we can’t go on a pony ride.
Daddy?
Yes child?
I sad
Why child?
Miss gwama.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Sit down daddy sit down,
Child, I need to get ready for work.
Help, daddy, help.
Child, you can eat by yourself.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh gimpa house
See uncle david.
Yes child we will go to grampa’s house and see uncle David later.
See josh?
Yes child, we will see Joshua.
See geema?
Yes child we will see Gramma
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh Punkin.
Yes child, that is a pumpkin.
Halloween.
Yes child, we painted pumpkins at holloween.
Marta monster.
Yes child, our friend Marta was dressed as a troll.
Sarah,
Yes we saw Sarah.
Char
Yes we saw Charles.
Leena daddy
Yes we saw Leena’s daddy and mommy.
Twick an tweet
Yes we went trick or treating
Yike candy
Yes I know you like candy, but you may not have any now.
OK daddy.
Daddy?
Yes child
See doctor?
Yes child, I am going to the doctor, and you are going with me.
Get sticker.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Go eat?
Yes child, we are going out to eat.
No doctor?
No we are not going to the doctor.
Go eat?
Yes child we are going to eat.
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh eat!
Wead daddy Wead,
Ok, we can read this book.
Daddy, see scarecwow
Yes, that is a scarecrow
Snowman
Yes, there is a snowman
Daddy?
Yes child?
Uh uh punkinpatch
Friday, November 18, 2005
Helping orphans
Another adoptive Dad, Kenny, has a post on why adoption, why help orphans. Worth a look. This story explains my feelings quite well, even though I don't have near the experience that Kenny does, or that Marina does.
Marina's Story
Another adoptive Dad, Kenny, has a post on why adoption, why help orphans. Worth a look. This story explains my feelings quite well, even though I don't have near the experience that Kenny does, or that Marina does.
Marina's Story
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Memories of another time.
I have had an interesting experience recently.
I heard of a family going to the same town where my youngest daughter was from. Not to many people go there since it is a pretty small baby house and it is off the beaten path, even for Kazakhstan.
I asked them to take a letter back to the baby house with some pictures. What I did not anticipate is the flood of emotions that would come with putting the package together. Of course looking at the nearly thousand photos we took of the town, baby house, our bonding time was certainly a trip down memory lane. What caught me off guard, was a photo of some older kids that had put on a dance presentation while we were there.
A year and a half ago, we adopted a baby, at the time she was just under a year old. We took time to go in to the baby house early and play with the older kids - 3-5 years old. I remember it being a bittersweet time. I felt good that we were paying attention to the kids, and trying to give them quality time, it was fun. I also felt a deep sadness about what I think their long term life will be like. These were beautiful kids. They had that innocence that young kids have.
When I put together the photos and letter, all that sadness came flooding back. I wonder about the kids that were there that are now probably on to the older child house. I wonder about the little girl who had a hearing problem, I wonder about the little girl who the director was very adamant that she wanted to see her adopted, and not go to the older kid house. I wonder about the little boy who I taught how to fly a paper airplane. I think about these kids.
Like many other families, if we had the forethought, we would have had our paper work open to 2 kids. We easily would have come home with one of those kids.
I am grateful to the family taking the letter to the baby house. I hope it will help promote goodwill with the region and baby house.
I know that there are others who are doing things to help kids in Kazakhstan. Kenny and CCCP, the playground equipment projects and other things. Please keep doing this. For others, please support these efforts. Yes I know this seems to be a blatant call for supporting organizations, but in reality, this is a silent call to help me assuage my guilt at leaving some wonderful kids, my guilt that I can't do more, and my sadness that there are kids who will grow up in institutions.
Oh yes, I have a very wonderful daughter. Now two and a half. Talking up a storm, dancing to music, singing songs, running, jumping, trying hard to copy her older sister in reading, drawing and anything else she can try to do.
I have had an interesting experience recently.
I heard of a family going to the same town where my youngest daughter was from. Not to many people go there since it is a pretty small baby house and it is off the beaten path, even for Kazakhstan.
I asked them to take a letter back to the baby house with some pictures. What I did not anticipate is the flood of emotions that would come with putting the package together. Of course looking at the nearly thousand photos we took of the town, baby house, our bonding time was certainly a trip down memory lane. What caught me off guard, was a photo of some older kids that had put on a dance presentation while we were there.
A year and a half ago, we adopted a baby, at the time she was just under a year old. We took time to go in to the baby house early and play with the older kids - 3-5 years old. I remember it being a bittersweet time. I felt good that we were paying attention to the kids, and trying to give them quality time, it was fun. I also felt a deep sadness about what I think their long term life will be like. These were beautiful kids. They had that innocence that young kids have.
When I put together the photos and letter, all that sadness came flooding back. I wonder about the kids that were there that are now probably on to the older child house. I wonder about the little girl who had a hearing problem, I wonder about the little girl who the director was very adamant that she wanted to see her adopted, and not go to the older kid house. I wonder about the little boy who I taught how to fly a paper airplane. I think about these kids.
Like many other families, if we had the forethought, we would have had our paper work open to 2 kids. We easily would have come home with one of those kids.
I am grateful to the family taking the letter to the baby house. I hope it will help promote goodwill with the region and baby house.
I know that there are others who are doing things to help kids in Kazakhstan. Kenny and CCCP, the playground equipment projects and other things. Please keep doing this. For others, please support these efforts. Yes I know this seems to be a blatant call for supporting organizations, but in reality, this is a silent call to help me assuage my guilt at leaving some wonderful kids, my guilt that I can't do more, and my sadness that there are kids who will grow up in institutions.
Oh yes, I have a very wonderful daughter. Now two and a half. Talking up a storm, dancing to music, singing songs, running, jumping, trying hard to copy her older sister in reading, drawing and anything else she can try to do.
Friday, November 04, 2005
A coworker of mine forwarded this on to me from her husband who is in Iraq. I feel rather passionate about orphans. This is a real heart-wrencher.
We went to an orphanage today. This was different from the last one. This one is run by Caledonian sisters and is a school for girls. I came real close to packing one six year old in a box and shipping her home. Like most women in this society, the girls were generally restrained. This one was just the opposite; she grabbed me by the hand and wanted to show me things. We found a nerf football in a box and played catch (making the nuns very nervous in the sitting room).
We laid the grab on a pallet of Snickers bars. Before we went to the orphanage, we first loaded school supplies we had left into the trucks. Then, we stuffed every remaining space with cases of Snickers. Then, we filled the smallest spaces with 24 pack boxes of Snickers. We were in the sitting room with the nuns and the girls and they were sort of fidgeting nervously. I stood up and motioned for all the girls to follow me down to the basement garage where the cars were parked. I opened to doors and started loading them up with boxes of chocolate and they were thrilled. They had a lot of fun unloading the trucks. The candy will get passed on to other orphanages.
We had a guy go with us who I met at the palace. He’s an active duty guy LTC (the Army equivalent of me) who’s a former Special Forces who now does intel. He’s big in the Knights of Columbus and has been looking for an organization to support with cash the Knights have raised back home. He also has a six year old son who is crippled with cerebral palsy. He’s a big tough looking guy. He was playing catch with the kids and me. When we got back into the car, he was crying. He said it was the first time he had played with kids in eight months. He said it was the best day he had in eight months. He had a point.
We are starting another hair brained scheme. We are going to start asking people to send us toys for the kids for Christmas. Not big things, but small stuff like beanie babies and happy meal toys. We want to round up as many as we can before Christmas. We are going to start making a list and checking it twice…..
We went to an orphanage today. This was different from the last one. This one is run by Caledonian sisters and is a school for girls. I came real close to packing one six year old in a box and shipping her home. Like most women in this society, the girls were generally restrained. This one was just the opposite; she grabbed me by the hand and wanted to show me things. We found a nerf football in a box and played catch (making the nuns very nervous in the sitting room).
We laid the grab on a pallet of Snickers bars. Before we went to the orphanage, we first loaded school supplies we had left into the trucks. Then, we stuffed every remaining space with cases of Snickers. Then, we filled the smallest spaces with 24 pack boxes of Snickers. We were in the sitting room with the nuns and the girls and they were sort of fidgeting nervously. I stood up and motioned for all the girls to follow me down to the basement garage where the cars were parked. I opened to doors and started loading them up with boxes of chocolate and they were thrilled. They had a lot of fun unloading the trucks. The candy will get passed on to other orphanages.
We had a guy go with us who I met at the palace. He’s an active duty guy LTC (the Army equivalent of me) who’s a former Special Forces who now does intel. He’s big in the Knights of Columbus and has been looking for an organization to support with cash the Knights have raised back home. He also has a six year old son who is crippled with cerebral palsy. He’s a big tough looking guy. He was playing catch with the kids and me. When we got back into the car, he was crying. He said it was the first time he had played with kids in eight months. He said it was the best day he had in eight months. He had a point.
We are starting another hair brained scheme. We are going to start asking people to send us toys for the kids for Christmas. Not big things, but small stuff like beanie babies and happy meal toys. We want to round up as many as we can before Christmas. We are going to start making a list and checking it twice…..
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
John Wesley Powell was an explorer who was among the first white men to traverse the Grand Canyon. After his exploring days were over, he became the director of the US Geological Survey, and the head of the Bureau of Ethnology. It was in this capacity that he visited many of the native American tribes. One tribes he visited was the Moqui. The Moqui indians had one request for Powell. They explained that the name Moqui was the name their enemies used for them. They wished to be called Hopi. Powell took that request and changed the official recognition of the tribe to Hopi.
It is with this type of thought that two opposing sides in an argument should approach each other when they try to talk. By taking this type of view, it removes a lot of the barriers to and finding common ground.
It is with this type of thought that two opposing sides in an argument should approach each other when they try to talk. By taking this type of view, it removes a lot of the barriers to and finding common ground.
Pink, pink, pink
My wife and I are pretty idealistic. When we had our first child, we pretty much thought out how we would raise her. She would be well balanced, thoughtful, kind, generous. I would teach her about tools, and how to make things out of wood. We would balance things with life skills like being able to cook so when she is on her own, she can take care of herself. We would teach her about the environment, and to respect animals. We would teach her to be strong, articulate, and assertive. Not mean or nasty.
We would raise her without gender biased stuff. In our idealism, we expected her to play with all sorts of toys, creative playthings that teach rather then drain. We hoped to have her be able to play with boy things as well as girl things. We avoided the “girl” isle in the toy stores, we dressed her in yellow, green, purple, and red.
Where did we go wrong?
Where did all this PINK come from? Why does she want to dress as sleeping beauty - the most passive of all the princesses in the disney cartoon world? Why does she want to play with My Little Pony and not the cars and trains?
My wife and I are pretty idealistic. When we had our first child, we pretty much thought out how we would raise her. She would be well balanced, thoughtful, kind, generous. I would teach her about tools, and how to make things out of wood. We would balance things with life skills like being able to cook so when she is on her own, she can take care of herself. We would teach her about the environment, and to respect animals. We would teach her to be strong, articulate, and assertive. Not mean or nasty.
We would raise her without gender biased stuff. In our idealism, we expected her to play with all sorts of toys, creative playthings that teach rather then drain. We hoped to have her be able to play with boy things as well as girl things. We avoided the “girl” isle in the toy stores, we dressed her in yellow, green, purple, and red.
Where did we go wrong?
Where did all this PINK come from? Why does she want to dress as sleeping beauty - the most passive of all the princesses in the disney cartoon world? Why does she want to play with My Little Pony and not the cars and trains?
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