Posts Tagged ‘Guatemalan adoption’

The First Strawberries

Friday, May 7th, 2010

I grew up in New Jersey, the Garden State, but as a child knew very little about plants. We had trees I could identify—sycamore and oak and maple—and a Rose-of-Sharon bush grown from a cutting started at my mother’s girlhood home in Virginia. Other than that, though, nothing. I was a girl from the suburbs: Peaches arrived in cans and carrots existed in deli coleslaw.

Tim, on the other hand, spent his formative years on a farm in Texas. His parents grew berries and peas and corn and squash. As a boy, Tim worked alongside his father, watching what his father did and learning from it. Now as an adult, my husband tracks rainfall the way other men follow pro sports. In the ten years we’ve been together, I’ve learned a lot from Tim.  I, too, love to get my hands dirty in good soil. I worry if we plant seedlings too early; I fret about water levels. (more…)

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Life in Guatemala

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

I lived in Antigua, Guatemala, for almost six months while we were adopting Olivia, who was born there, and sometimes in the late afternoon she and I would sit on our living room sofa and watch Teletubbies. The show was perfect for us because although it was taped in English and dubbed in Spanish, it’s non-verbal, making it one of the few things we could understand together.

There’s a section in the show where the tummy of one of the Tubbies–I forget which one — turns into a rectangular TV set, and leads the viewer into a scene far away. One afternoon the distant action took place in a schoolroom in England, where cheerful children sat at small tables doing arts-and-crafts projects with an abundant assortment of supplies: scissors, construction paper, buttons, glue, and glitter. What I remember most is how much glitter was left to fall to the floor, small mountains almost, until the floor itself disappeared, and was turned into sparkles. (more…)

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The Fabric of Guatemala

Friday, April 30th, 2010

During my visit to Guatemala last February with Olivia, I bought five yards of white cotton fabric at a shop in Antigua. The fabric was hand-made in Cobán, a municipality located in the central part of the country that is best-known for the spectacular waterfalls at Semuc Champey. In addition to its natural beauty, Cobán is a center for weavers who make a certain, delicate cotton fabric unlike any other made in Guatemala. I learned this through my friend, Gretchen, another adoptive mom who was in Guatemala and who led me to the shop. 

As I write this, the white cotton fabric is being made into a dress for Olivia to wear next weekend at her First Holy Communion. This afternoon, we’ll go to her final fitting. When Olivia was baptized, I wore a multi-colored, hand-woven shawl from the region where she was born. For her First Communion, Olivia also wanted to wear something to reflect her Guatemalan heritage. When my friend Gretchen mentioned the Cobán fabric, we knew it would be perfect.  (more…)

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Brad Pitt and Me

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

I just learned about a new group on Facebook called “It’s none of your business why we didn’t ‘just’ adopt from here.” 

While the group’s name might be seen as a little strident, I understand the sentiment. How many times have my husband and I been asked why we “didn’t just adopt from the United States?” So many that I’ve lost count. I’m not alone in this. Every adoptive parent I know who has adopted internationally has faced the same question. 

When we first started the adoption process with Olivia, I never dreamed I would one day be quoting Brad Pitt. But a few years ago I read an interview with him, and (predictably), he was asked “Why did you adopt from another country? There are so many children here who need homes.” Brad Pitt’s response rang so true that I remember it still: “Our children find us, wherever they are.”  (more…)

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Top of the World

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

On Sunday afternoon, we hiked up Ring Mountain. No planning was necessary. At two clock, I said “Let’s go,” and by 2:10, I’d thrown together a couple of energy bars and a water bottle and we were on our way. Nothing else was required beyond stepping out our front door, turning left, and walking uphill. Hiking Ring Mountain is one of our family’s favorite activities. Tim and I first carried Olivia and Mateo there in backpacks.

We can thank the tireless efforts of environmental activist and botanist Phyllis Ellman for Ring Mountain, who led the battle against land developers to keep the property public. The parcel was bought by the Nature Conservancy, and in 1995, deeded over to the Open Space District. Now thousands of hikers like us enjoy its vistas and trails. (more…)

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Preschool

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

I don’t know what’s it like where you live, but in Marin County, California, parents register their babies for preschool moments after they’re born. I understand why. Everybody else does, too. What that means is that when Olivia joined our family at almost two years old and I tried to register her for the next year, preschool directors shook their heads with sympathy and said, “No room.” (more…)

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Baby Jogger

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

As so often happens, a decision to tear out the old wall-to-wall carpet in our bedroom and downstairs office has turned into a massive cleaning project requiring multiple trips to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. We’re giving away everything: clothes, toys, kitchen supplies, appliances. A friend in need has taken furniture and shelving. On Monday, a truck will load the leftovers and haul them to the dump.  (more…)

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Joy

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

About Mateo, I say “He wakes up happy.” He’s always been that way, ever since we first met him as a baby in Guatemala City. If we each have an essence, Mateo’s is “joy.” He radiates positive energy and goodwill and exuberance. My friend Julia recently called him “merry.” The label fits. 

Why is that? What makes a person who he is? So far, I know very little about Mateo’s biological family. Does he inherit his temperament from his other mother? Is his biological father a humorous man? Does Mateo’s approach to life have anything to do with my behavior, or the influence of my husband and daughter? What makes Mateo, Mateo? (more…)

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Egg Hunt

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Easter was overcast and chilly, but that didn’t deter us from attending the annual egg hunt hosted in a local park by our friends Jenn and Ed Pfeiffer. Jenn and Ed hid 1,300 eggs filled with candy and prizes throughout the park. Sixty or so energetic children fanned across the grounds and scooped them up by the basketful while their parents drank hot coffee and tea and chowed down on bagels and cream cheese. The highlight of the event was the search for the glitter-encrusted golden egg, filled with five dollars cash, in quarters. Hiding the golden egg is always Ed’s job, and this year, as usual, he did it well. The kids searched for the prize without success for a half-hour before Ed gathered them around to reveal a clue. “It’s on this side of the park,” he announced, waving his arms toward the south end. The kids ran off again, screaming, but it took another twenty minutes before the treasure was discovered by a teenager, in high grass in a real nest, now abandoned.  (more…)

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The Age of Why

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

At five years old, Mateo is right in the middle of the “age of why.” From morning to night, he asks questions. Yesterday, while we were running errands, he began his litany from the back seat of the car. 

“Why are tarantulas bigger than spiders?” “Do cows like rain?” “Why can water put out fire?” 

My first thought was “I have no idea.” I majored in English in college. Science has never been my strong suit. But I’m proud of Mateo for thinking up such good questions, and I did my best to answer. “The reason water can put out fire has something to do with oxygen. Or no,” I said. “That’s what makes fire burn.”

 “What’s ox-y-gen?” Mateo asked. “Is that like the air?” 

“Exactly. The truth is I don’t know why water puts out fire. When Daddy gets home, let’s ask him.”  (more…)

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