One of Baby Bird’s most cherished possessions is her Very Hungry Caterpillar, and his story (by Eric Carle). She loves to read about how he started off so small and then ate and ate and ate his way through everything in sight, until he was transformed into a beautiful butterfly. Recently she’s started taking him […]
Family
In a family sort of way
Three years ago we put up a bird house. No renters. The next year we advertised. Still, no renters. Then last fall, we put up two bird houses, raised their height, and changed the location. And…. WE’VE GOT TENANTS. Chickadee tenants. A birdie family who are “with child”…or would that be, with chickadee. In the […]
Where the wild things are
I read this morning that Maurice Sendak died. So much of his imagination fueled my own. From my early childhood and reading books like Where the Wild Things Are –over and over and over–to my adult years in Seattle watching Sendak’s creativity come alive with the his brilliantly designed sets for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker. […]
Happy Hour in memory of my Dad
This past Sunday we hosted Happy Hour in our home. It was a very special Happy Hour because we held it to honor my father’s memory. My Dad would have been 88 this past Monday, if he’d been around. Sadly, he passed away at the end of January. Since my extended family is small and […]
The king of kraut: a recipe in memory of my father
My father passed away early Sunday morning. When I shared the news with family and friends, each person I spoke to, talked about my father’s pickles and sauerkraut. Dad was the king of kraut. Memories of making kraut with my Dad, growing up in Fayetteville, New York, go back as far as I can remember. […]
A new year, a silver lining
Yesterday I reread the post I wrote to close out 2010. In it, I described wrapping up a particularly difficult year along with my hopes for 2011. I didn’t have to read past the first paragraph to see that 2010 was a relative cakewalk when compared with 2011: the “moratorium on hospital visits for family […]
Giving thanks for breath
For the past several Thanksgivings, I’ve attended a fundraiser at my gym for Food Lifeline. I get to take a spin class on the holiday, people in need get food: it’s a win-win. I pedal furiously, sweat profusely and breathe hard. And, with every breath, I tell myself how grateful I am to be able […]
Ten ideas for exploring cultural heritage in adoptive families
Exploring heritage is important for all adoptive families, not just those who adopt internationally. Whether a Caucasian family adopts an African-American child domestically or a family of Western European descent adopts a child from Eastern Europe, chances are that your adopted child will have different cultural roots. Exploring heritage is one way to learn about […]
Adoption Rituals and Traditions
Every holiday season since Big Papa and I became a duo, we’ve made Shepherd’s Pie from scratch. It’s a tradition we created together. I’ve thought a lot about how new rituals might make their way into our lives, particularly as they relate to adoption, which is why one of this week’s National Adoption Awareness Month’s […]
Once upon a time: Adoption Life Stories
Every child and every adoption has its own unique story—a life story. The telling and retelling of this story is an important building block in helping an adopted child understand his history and build a bridge from his beginnings and “first family” to the present and his adopted family. There are many ways to record […]