Category: Parenting
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Reset in France
I learned of remembered a few things this fall. It is important to step off the stage, to be silent, to listen to God. As an introvert, this year I have been focused outwardly, to the point of depletion. Everybody needs something everyday. I was not meant to fill or meet every need. While giving is…
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Room for the easy and the hard
Guilt about *it being easy *It can be life, marriage, adoption. Parenting is evidently not easy. We can see the beauty in it, embrace the challenges, but parenting is about sacrifice. No matter who you are, if you are in it for the long run, motivated by love, sacrifice comes natural. It is possible that…
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Cohesive joy
I care about being cohesive, even as we live a very complex life. On one hand I’m in awe of these two gifts in our lives. On the other, I wonder if I’m equipped to keep up with the challenges of life as is. Adoption is complex. Adults considering adoption want guarantees. But there are…
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FOMO or FOBI
Fear of missing out is a syndrome that extroverts suffer from. On the other other hand, introverts have this fear of being included. I am the latter. My kids ask for my opinion often. I ask question, I encourage them to decide for themselves in matters that they can but they still like to include…
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Self confidence
I rooted my belief system in the proverbs. In a childhood / adolescence where I didn’t ask many questions, it didn’t mean my mind didn’t question or wonder, and my heart was hungry for Knowledge, I poured hours in the proverbs. Silence, humility, generosity, wisdom we’re all praised. Self confidence was not among the valued…
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Food
I enjoy a tasty meal. I get creative in the kitchen when I imagine or remember the good taste of some foods. Our bodies are also created to crave the food we need. It remembers the contents of vitamins and minerals in different foods. Isn’t that amazing? I grew up in an era of scarcity.…
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A new school year
After a week of fog and rain, the sun is shining over the hill in front of our breakfast window. It’s already 8:30 AM. But today we don’t have to go to class. We only have the festivity. Jackie is still sleeping soundly. I can ear her breathing contently in her bed. Ivy is of…
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Neighborly
At the blocks Conrad baked cookies for the neighbors, brought them jams and jellies, but only rarely joined the social summer evenings with the other parents to watch the kids roll on their bikes. we happened to move Into this cul-de-sac with wonderful people. We loved the view, we liked the neighbors so we chose…
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No more social bandwidth
An old friend from California popped into my mind. I haven’t spoken to her in a year. But I trist she trusts my heart that nothing went wrong in our friendship, it’s just that I have no more spare minutes in my day to reach out to anyone else. A study I read recently says…
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Cyclical moodiness
Walking up the hill, my eldest is trying to convince me to let her have a sleep over at my parents. They are very lax with rules. This is the mai reason why she loves it there. She feels loved through the freedom she gets. At times we reset our expectations and give her what…
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Honoring the foster family
Three families, who are well settled in their adoption, met on a hot summer day, to surprise and celebrate the foster family that spent at least a year with our kids, our daughters. Who advocated for their well being without any personal interest , today we had a reunion of love, of gratitude, of joy.
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Adoption is disruptive
The most common question I get when I’m interviewed about adoption is: “what would you tell families who are considering adoption?” I want to be encouraging and at the same time realistic. Helpful and down to earth. But adoption is such a personal experience. No two adoptions are the same. No two kids are the…