Surprise!

When people find out you're adopting, you can sometimes find yourself in interesting conversations. One of the topics that has come up between us and others is the uncertainty that adoption brings. For some reason, having bio children provides some people with a sense of certainty and control. As in thinking "Adoption is risky. You don't know what bad habits a child may have. You may not know about a child's health. What if they are behavior problems and wreck your family?" Truth be told, having bio children does not guarantee freedom from bad behavior, poor health, or family wrecking antics. So yes, adoption does hold some surprises but so does having bio kids. In reality, our kids don't belong to us anyway. They're God's. It is He who has established their ways and He who rights the wrongs or fixes their lives. It is not all about our wonderful planning or preventative measures.

In a similar vein, we have had some surprises in our first few weeks together. Some are sad and serious; some are funny and silly. Most have been the latter. Here's a sampling.

-Kenson has done very well with books and reading stories. He will sit and listen to us read to him. I am amazed. I assumed he would not as his experience with stories and books is probably limited. But apparently, it is more than I thought.

-Kenson found the riding hippo that we have and promptly climbed on and started scooting and moving it by using his feet and legs. His orphanage is not a wonderland of toys by any means and there have been times where this lack of toys has been a criticism. However, Kenson had to have learned that there so at some point in time, he had access to riding toys.

-Kenson loves to kiss-ANYTHING! Mama and Papa, the tv, pictures of people, the magnetic letters on my fridge. Hopefully he won't turn into a kissing bandit at school. In the words of one such kissing bandit at our elementary-"No kissy girls! Kissy girls bad! Go to office!" (He's Vietnamese and learning English so if you could just hear him say it once it would be forever stuck in your head.)

-Um, does ringworm count as a surprise? I'm about 95% sure that both Kenson and I have it. We haven't been to the doctor yet but it just seems suspiciously like ringworm.

-The crazyness of having to travel and then spend two nights at D's grandma's house this week were real surprises in my "attachment plans." But things went as well as could be expected. One slightly major crying fit and a few minor ones but we survived intact. And then we spent last night watching Kenson be totally out of schedule due to no nap and late night traveling. What a hoot! Even when we visited him when he was little, he was the kind of kid who got crazier and louder the more tired he was. Last night was no exception. D and I knew it would be a wacky night so we just let him stay up and crawl into bed with us around 9:00 or so. And then we watched, and laughed, and laughed some more. What a goofball!

-And from Kenson's view point...I am totally surprised that cars have wheels. I can't help but touch them when we walk by. And did you know that when you walk outside in the sun, there is a black shape of you on the sidewalk? I heard it's called your shadow. Cats and dogs both will chase balls. And leaves scurry across the sidewalk when it's windy. Walking on cement feels different than walking on grass and windows and mirrors all show pictures of me. And best of all, when I leave my house, once we come back, it's all the same. My toys are still there, my bed is still there, even my mom and dad are still there. What a wonderful surprise!