Monday, November 14, 2005
Gotcha Day Part II
Of course, I had to post the annual pile of schmaltz on the list so here it is for all the world to see. Grab a Kleenex :)
Two years ago, on a cold, snowy Uralsk morning, a very scary judge declared Jaime and me a family. Suddenly, I was a mommy. As we went to pick up the newly named, totally confused and freaked out Jaime at the babyhouse, I did have to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. This wasn't visiting a couple hours a day or shopping for clothes or babysitting...this was Mommyhood...full time and forever. Would I be a good mommy? Would Jaime have "issues"I couldn't handle? Would I ever get to take a shower alone again?
So, as per usual, my sappy reflections on the past two years.
The little girl who never said a word until she was 2 1/2 (and that was "MORE!") now sings along with Baby Beluga and a variety of other kids' songs (as well as a few totally, inappropriate John Prine tunes). She also makes up songs on her own that she sings when she's really happy. Every night she requests "The Moon Song" (I Don't Want Live on the Moon) which I started singing to her exactly two years ago today. I suspect she'll be singing that to my grandchildren someday.
The little girl who couldn't climb up two steps on a playscape somehow managed to make her way, unassisted, ALL the way across the monkey bars on Friday. She'd been practicing all day and had little blisters on her hands but she proudly showed Mommy she could do it.
As for climbing, if there's a big drop at the end for her, she'll get to the top of anything...inflatable slides, playscapes and, I suspect, hills of snow when we get to Grandpa's.
The little girl who had no idea what to do with toys now puts together jigsaw puzzles (the hard ones without frames), builds buildings with Legos, rides a bike (with training wheels as high as they'll go), and pretty much figures out anything with wheels. She actually managed to get a "prize" out of the claw machine yesterday...all on her own!
The little girl who was described as "funny looking" gets comments from strangers about how cute and beautiful she is.
The little girl who was described as "crankous" and "seeks attention to herself" has grown to a kind, loving, tender hearted girl who insisted we buy the neighbor's dog the biggest rawhide bone I've ever seen...then cried when the dog went off to chew on it instead of staying to play with her.
The same, barely 4 year old, girl who stroked her grandpa's hand when he was so sick he didn't even know she was there and bought him M&Ms and rootbeer when he did.
The little girl who screamed for 18 hours on the flights home has racked up an amazing 35,000 (none from the trip home) frequent flyer miles and begs to go on "The Big Airplane" any chance she gets. The girl LOVES to travel. She's such a Schultz.
The little girl who cried herself to sleep in front of the door (yes, trying to get away from us!) the first day we met her won't let me out of her sight for 5 minutes if I'm anywhere in the near vicinity. This morning, I woke her up and said, "Happy Gotcha Day!" and she replied, "Party today?"
Then, when I said, "Yes" she said, "I love you, Mommy." Yes, I cried.
The little girl with the dismal medical eval - everything from funny-looking to small head circumference - is beautiful, smart, loving, caring and about as normal (whatever that means) as a little girl who wears Spiderman shoes can be.
Two years ago today, Assia said "The judge has granted both your petitions." and I asked, with a dumb smile, "What does that mean?" After all, he'd paid absolutely NO attention to me for the entire proceedings.
Assia said, "You're a mommy" after which I burst into tears, rushed out into the waiting area outside the courtroom and proceeded to make a fool of myself hugging everyone in sight.
Am I a good Mommy? I figure I'm doing something right because I sure have a terrific daughter. I'm not perfect, by any means, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job.
Did she have issues? Of course, but nothing I couldn't handle. I now realize that no matter what issues she may have had, I'd have found a way to deal with them. After all, that's what being a family is, right?
Private showers? Maybe next year.
So, as per usual, my sappy reflections on the past two years.
The little girl who never said a word until she was 2 1/2 (and that was "MORE!") now sings along with Baby Beluga and a variety of other kids' songs (as well as a few totally, inappropriate John Prine tunes). She also makes up songs on her own that she sings when she's really happy. Every night she requests "The Moon Song" (I Don't Want Live on the Moon) which I started singing to her exactly two years ago today. I suspect she'll be singing that to my grandchildren someday.
The little girl who couldn't climb up two steps on a playscape somehow managed to make her way, unassisted, ALL the way across the monkey bars on Friday. She'd been practicing all day and had little blisters on her hands but she proudly showed Mommy she could do it.
As for climbing, if there's a big drop at the end for her, she'll get to the top of anything...inflatable slides, playscapes and, I suspect, hills of snow when we get to Grandpa's.
The little girl who had no idea what to do with toys now puts together jigsaw puzzles (the hard ones without frames), builds buildings with Legos, rides a bike (with training wheels as high as they'll go), and pretty much figures out anything with wheels. She actually managed to get a "prize" out of the claw machine yesterday...all on her own!
The little girl who was described as "funny looking" gets comments from strangers about how cute and beautiful she is.
The little girl who was described as "crankous" and "seeks attention to herself" has grown to a kind, loving, tender hearted girl who insisted we buy the neighbor's dog the biggest rawhide bone I've ever seen...then cried when the dog went off to chew on it instead of staying to play with her.
The same, barely 4 year old, girl who stroked her grandpa's hand when he was so sick he didn't even know she was there and bought him M&Ms and rootbeer when he did.
The little girl who screamed for 18 hours on the flights home has racked up an amazing 35,000 (none from the trip home) frequent flyer miles and begs to go on "The Big Airplane" any chance she gets. The girl LOVES to travel. She's such a Schultz.
The little girl who cried herself to sleep in front of the door (yes, trying to get away from us!) the first day we met her won't let me out of her sight for 5 minutes if I'm anywhere in the near vicinity. This morning, I woke her up and said, "Happy Gotcha Day!" and she replied, "Party today?"
Then, when I said, "Yes" she said, "I love you, Mommy." Yes, I cried.
The little girl with the dismal medical eval - everything from funny-looking to small head circumference - is beautiful, smart, loving, caring and about as normal (whatever that means) as a little girl who wears Spiderman shoes can be.
Two years ago today, Assia said "The judge has granted both your petitions." and I asked, with a dumb smile, "What does that mean?" After all, he'd paid absolutely NO attention to me for the entire proceedings.
Assia said, "You're a mommy" after which I burst into tears, rushed out into the waiting area outside the courtroom and proceeded to make a fool of myself hugging everyone in sight.
Am I a good Mommy? I figure I'm doing something right because I sure have a terrific daughter. I'm not perfect, by any means, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job.
Did she have issues? Of course, but nothing I couldn't handle. I now realize that no matter what issues she may have had, I'd have found a way to deal with them. After all, that's what being a family is, right?
Private showers? Maybe next year.
In honor of our second "Gotcha Day", here are a few pictures from the last two years. Unfortunately, they cut me off before I got them all posted. If I have time tomorrow, I'll post some more. Otherwise, here you go...some oldies and some new ones. Enjoy!
