I am back to work so my posts are getting farther and farther apart. Just wanted to tell a few stories and update everyone on how we are. We have lost or misplaced the digital camera so we don’t have any digital pictures to post, hopefully I can rectify that situation real soon.
Roman is doing very well he seems to be enjoying his first year of high school. He explained to me that he really puts himself out there and has met a lot of interesting people that way. He says “I just sit down with different people at lunch, and get to know them.” He is doing well in cross country and is very committed, practice is everyday with some weekends thrown in there also. Next weekend is homecoming and I am still trying to convince him to go. I even tried to bribe him with offering to buy the tickets. I didn’t do any of those things in my high school career because I didn’t see the importance in it. He is so different than me in so many ways and so the same in others. Last weekend I took him to see the Dalai Lama speak he said “thanks Mom that was cool”, about 12 years ago when I wasn’t much older than Roman my mother took me to see the Dalai Lama, I thought it was cool too.
Sierra has really blossomed lately but you wouldn’t know it if you heard her getting ready in the morning. She is definitely like me when it comes to mornings. She has started girl scouts again, karate, soccer along with a kids religion club. She really takes charge now and as become a great big sister. This morning I lay in bed while I got to listen to her talk to Saba as she did her hair. They both like the hair in the eyes doo.
Taye is as amazing as ever; the stories that he is able to tell us are amazing. One cool thing that has happened since my last post was his reaction to the foster boy down the street leaving for a more permanent family. We have been playing with Carl all summer and he had become a regular fixture in our house so needless to say I was happy for Carl but sad for us. Trying to explain what was going on to our Ethiopian born children was difficult to say the least. I know they were surprised months ago when they got here that there were “orphans” in America. So I just explained it how I think it was explained in Ethiopia, “Carl is going to his new family”. “Carl has family” was all Taye said. When Carl came over for his banana split party to celebrate his family he walked in the door and was tackled by Taye, “I love you Carl, I love you” he was so happy for Carl. I imagine this was how it was when the kids got their photo albums in Ethiopia. We had a big party and sent Carl happily on his way. At this point he doesn’t realize that Carl has many years to come of being in the system.
Gizachew or Yigzaw whatever you want to call him, he will respond to both, is doing great. I was so concerned how he was going to do in school, we put him with a very structured teacher and both of them are in love with each other. It is not the same for the teacher’s assistant however. I think he loves her, but she really doesn’t love him. I got a call last week that as soon as his main teacher walks out of the room that Gizachew goes haywire. She would ask him something or try to reprimand him; “I don’t understand English” is always the response. “Gizachew do you want a snack?”, “yep, ah uh sure” he understood English then. I did explain while the other two Ethiopian children are so eager to please that Gizachew was not as much that way. He can smell weakness and fear a mile away. The assistant teacher is definitely more timid than the other and he knows that and will definitely play on that.
Saba as always is doing well in school. Both she and Gizachew tested in the middle of their classes which always amazes me that they have only been here a little over three months and they are doing better than some of their native counterparts. Saba is so diligent in anything she does. The other kids will be long done painting and Saba will be redoing what she had already done. I am not so happy about it when she is painting right on the carpet. She is always trying to find similarities between her and everyone she comes across “Mommy has brown hair with some black, Saba black hair with some brown”, “Sierra wear pants, Saba wear pants”
At this point I have a hard time remembering our lives without our new additions, I do realize sometimes though that it is not always that way for them. While they do amazingly well overall, they still long for good times in Ethiopia. There are not as many tears shed when we talk about Africa but they all want to go back, at least now they say they just want to visit Ethiopia then come back to America. I think that in our naiveté you think that they will always be happy here, but even I long for our days in Ethiopia and yearn to go back. I miss the people, the culture, the view and most of all the family that were only theirs but now they are all of ours.
