I had never heard of the WRETCHED Network or Todd Friel before yesterday, but now a video he recorded has gone viral in the adoption community. As anything viral, it evokes strong emotions; However, this video has been rather polarizing. Folks either really identified with it or found it untrue and offensive. Todd’s delivery is...
Tag: Our Adoption Adventure
Fall Transitions
For a fleeting moment, I actually let myself believe we could slip into the fall schedule without drama. We had actually gone a couple months without Patrick having to come home from work, and all the kids (but one especially) had made notable forward strides. Note to self: When dealing with kids from trauma, never...
First Year Reflections
We did something few families do (or few social workers let happen). We adopted three, unrelated, older children (all with double-digit ages) basically all at once and out of birthorder when we already had a kid from a hard place in our home. Can you count the red flags? We’re at about T plus a year....
Quote-worthy
Sometimes you just need a humor intermission. These are some quotes I’ve been collecting over the last year. Most of them come from the girls. I don’t need dessert…it’s not my business. A major learning theme this year is to worry about yourself (in terms of tattling, etc.) This is really hard for hypervigilant kids....
Talk to the hand
The bag of tricks just keeps getting bigger. Today’s trick: Get silly! (aka…grasping at straws.) This morning, Mia got to the bathroom just before Grace. It was perceived by Grace that Mia was maliciously cutting her off. Grace: Mia, you look devil. Patrick (in a sharp tone): Grace, I don’t ever want to hear that...
{Voices} Uncertain
I won’t lie. Grace has given us a run for our money in terms of behavior. In stressful situations, people tend to flee, fight, or freeze. Grace is a fighter. As a kid from a hard place, she is constantly in a state of high alert and very high stress so she is fighting the majority...
{Answers} Birth Order
This is the fourth post in a series that answers the questions you asked. To read the rest of the series, click here. I apologize that the answers to your fab questions have rolled out quite as quickly as I imagined. Thanks for your patience. Our son is almost 5 and in thinking about adopting again,...
{Answers} Alpha child
You guys ask hard good questions. I’m going to answer them the best I can as things stand now. DISCLAIMER: If you ask them again in 6 months, the answers may be different. I’m also going to milk this Q&A thing by answering one or two questions at a time. We adopted three children –...