Hoards of butterflies flutter away in my stomach this week. The adoption has taken over our hearts, much of our prayer life and our budget. There is only one honest answer when people ask the polite questions: 'What's up?' 'How have you been doing?' 'What have you been doing?'
We're adopting a child(ren) from Ethiopia. Surprise! Unlike pregnancy producing a child in 36 to 40 weeks, we're looking at 18 months or longer. The wait today stands like a mountain in my head.
I've swung from elation to frustration. Why does this take so long? And the answers don't bring comfort.
Painting brings comfort. I'm reading this book called Toddler Adoption -- the Weaver's Craft and it talks about how children adopted when they're older later miss having baby pictures. As a supplement to the baby pictures our child will not have -- we're writing a journal for the child about our experience. (Baby scrap books are always from the prospective of the parents anyway. Right?) I want to add a series of paintings to that journal. Painting makes me feel like I'm getting something DONE.
I dug out photos of children I took while I was in West Africa (Dakar, Senegal) in 2004. I've started a portrait of two of the children. While Ethiopia is as culturally as far away from Senegal as it is geographical, it's still Africa. And many of the poverty and orphan problems are the same. Painting makes me feel like I'm doing something to later help the child(ren) -- like writing down their story. The paintings will never look like my child(ren) -- but it's the only picture I have in my head. Imagination is a powerful thing.
I'll post a photo of the painting when it's done. Scott on the other hand is planning what kind of wood to make bunkbeds out of. My husband rocks.
Hi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI am a friend of you sister, Brittany, and am adopting from Russia. Our boys will be 12 and 8 when we bring them home. It breaks my heart that they will leave the orphanage with nothing but a few pictures from the past year or two. No baby pictures, no toddler pictures, no first day of school pictures, no teeth saved in a jar, no lock of hair from the first haircut.... I think your painting idea is a beautiful way to help mend the gap. Blessings, Stephanie
thanks Stephanie! I haven't looked back through these older posts in a while, and it's fun to read your comment today because I was just thinking that maybe I should do a few more. Thanks for the encouragement! Hope your family is doing well! Do you have a blog? I'd love to read more about your adoption. Best,C
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