You Don’t Need to be as Wrong as I Was
Her name was Marina. She was one of the sweetest, prettiest, shyest little girls I had ever met. She was almost seven when she handed me a beautifully completed sheet from a…
Category
Russian Adoption
Russian Adoption
Reactive Attachment Disorder Measuring Success
Because some of our children have Reactive Attachment Disorder measuring success is hard to do and that leaves us, as parents, frustrated. My wife sprang a leak. Water ran from both eyes, down…
How to Fix Your Child With a Magic Wand
My oldest daughter hadn’t been home from Russia for a month before we noticed her pointing pencils or other objects at us while contorting her eyes and face. Emily had come from…
Get Close Enough to Help People with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Psychologists call them triggers. They could be events, objects, sensory stimulations or even words. When a person who has experienced severe trauma is confronted with anything that they have psychologically associated with…
Reactive Attachment Disorder I Need Your Help withThree Things
Because my daughter has Reactive Attachment Disorder I need your help with three things. Some people think that RAD means my daughter can’t emotionally attach to others. It doesn’t. Attachment is like…
The Truth at the Bottom of the Castle
I think every school aged girl who gets adopted feels at least a little bit like a princess. That was certainly true for my daughters. Sarah, who was five-and-a-half when she came…
Excuse Me, Do You Know Lelya?
Do you know Lelya? You probably don’t, but I’ve been looking for a long time. Lelya was an orphan. Well, maybe not technically. Those who try to downplay the orphan crisis say…
My Valentine
Twenty-six years ago I was engaged to one of the most beautiful girls I had ever known. It was no secret she was out of my league. In fact, the only reason…
Rainbows and Unicorns Should Erase Adoption Scars
There really is a beautiful and almost magical side to our adoption stories. We wanted our daughters badly. Our sons wanted little sisters, too. We painted bedrooms and bought new clothes. We…
A Child is Even More Tired of Waiting for You
My wife, Amy and I had three sons biologically before her childbearing days were over. We had always dreamed of having daughters to go along with our sons, and we weren’t ready…
Whoosh! There Went my New Year's Resolution.
Jack and Emily Simmons The road to hell, good intentions… blah blah blah. I had a lot of things I needed maintain, even get ahead on over the next several months because…
Rare and Precious Moments when Intellectual Disabilities Fade
Annie just before her Junior Prom I hadn’t realized that the song had been on continuous repeat for the better part of an hour. I had been reliving a perfect moment in…