Karen's Journey

For a while, we had a new "word of the day" nearly every day. One day it was "yummy," another it was "bike," and another it was "tickle." Now the word of the week, or maybe month, seems to be "NO!" Teshale started out communicating this concept with the Amharic word "ai," pronounced "eye." He eventually switched to "eh-eh, eh-eh," which I was grateful for at the time, because I much preferred being told "eh-eh" to being hit or punched. He was using his words, as we say so often to children of all ages. Then for some reason it became "nay," which I always see in my mind as "nae," probably because it goes so well with his "thank-ee" which to me sounds so middle English or Scottish, or something along that line. We worked long and hard to get him to make that long 'o' sound. "Ooooo," we'd say and have him repeat it with us. Once he'd get ...

The media has really had a field day with the news of the woman who sent her 7-year-old son back to Russia. It's a terribly sad story for everyone involved. I have no idea what the family endured, but it sounds horrific. I know that the first month with Teshale was very difficult for me, so I have empathy for anyone who is struggling with a child post-placement. I also have empathy for the children. They have been through great hardships at such a young age -- such loss and rejection. They are thrown into new families in a new place with no preparation and little understanding of what it all means. I had a choice in all of this, so it's easy for me to want to love my son. He on the other hand has had no choice in anything that has happened to him. We're all warned that the older adopted child might have this issue or that issue, but in my opinion the warning isn't strong enough. I think anyone adopting internationally should be cautioned that with rare exception, eve...

Teshale playing by the tempting bus ladder in the courtyard/parking lot at Horizon House I wanted to post this months ago, but had to take a blogging break to deal with a serious illness in the family. The background on this post is that it was difficult to send emails out of Addis (unreliable dial up) but we were able to send a few to update family on how we were getting along with our new son. Our families found them very amusing, and I thought it would be fun to share them with everyone. Feb. 2: Sean is sick from last night's dinner, as are two others. He's doing better and has eaten some soup. I went to see Teshale alone this morning. This is what he did: 1) played with hose out back, figuring out how to drain the water out (he's intensely curious about how to figure out how things work and how to solve problems) 2) climbed toy shelves to get at water bottles people had left there (everything on the shelves is open game for them, so I have to get oth...

Teshale, March 2010, in his beloved "machina" sweater Thought a compilation of Facebook postings might be a good way to paint a picture of our life together so far: Jan. 27: Leaving 11:30 a.m. today for airport . Arriving Addis Ababa tomorrow at 7:30 p.m., guest house around 9 - 10 p.m., then up at 5 a.m. (9 p.m. SYR time) to go to birth family visit, back to Addis on Saturday sometime (6 hour trip). So won't get to meet Teshale until Sat. afternoon. A million things to do before we go! Feb. 10: Home with Teshale after an unexpected layover in DC (but thankful we got out ahead of this storm). Traveled 14,000 miles round trip to adopt a child with the Lauser temper. God has a sense of humor. To hear him giggle with delight and call "Mommy, mommy, mommy" every time he discovers something new makes it all worthwhile. Feb. 11: Luxury is being able to rinse your toothbrush under the tap water. And taking a hot shower without getting electric shocks. Feb. ...

I feel like I should have put a lot more thought into this, but thinking isn't doing, and if I didn't start, it was never going to happen. I don't have a particular goal in mind, other than to write down the thoughts that come to me throughout the day, particularly regarding our adoption journey, but possibly on other topics as well. My name is Karen. My husband's name is Sean. Our son's name is Teshale (Tesh-AH-luh), which means "the best" or "above all the others." His original last name was Yoke (You-kay), which means "fast." Both names are quite accurate descriptions, as far as we're concerned. His adoption was finalized in Ethiopia on Dec. 30, 2009, and we brought him home to upstate New York on Feb. 9, 2010, after a 12-day journey to Ethiopia and back. Our journey to him actually began many years ago, and our journey with him has really just begun.