tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432519807740136926.post8762193806594869343..comments2023-10-08T00:24:36.823-07:00Comments on Une Envie de Sel: Maiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17149615417507090988noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432519807740136926.post-79225112132180081612009-07-19T00:27:37.779-07:002009-07-19T00:27:37.779-07:00You express your heart so beautifully. Your pictur...You express your heart so beautifully. Your pictures show such a slim, delicate frame, but one can see that you are strong because your capacity for love is so profound. <br /><br /> ~Lorna<br />____________________________________Patsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17253618577306258135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432519807740136926.post-32294133959492252522009-07-06T17:40:57.120-07:002009-07-06T17:40:57.120-07:00Wonderful post; well written. I can relate to some...Wonderful post; well written. I can relate to some of the emotions as I remember our time in China. Your words caught me, in a beautiful way.<br /><br />Alyzabeth's Mommy for Nine MonthsAlyson and Fordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09152315459410231214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432519807740136926.post-88563637732943883902009-06-25T20:38:55.453-07:002009-06-25T20:38:55.453-07:00Maia,
For some months now, I have wanted to expres...Maia,<br />For some months now, I have wanted to express something to you. My great-grandmother went to Nanking as a doctor. My grandmother was born there. My family were Quaker doctors and started orphanages and clinics. <br /><br /> I work in GuangZhou...mostly. I grew up in Taiwan, the southern part, where our family again, took in orphans. I want to tell you that releasing the children to good homes and loving parents is as difficult a journey as receving them. Perhaps that is why the photographs are difficult to process. Maybe there are still strings in China that might pull you back. <br /><br />When I was young, still a kid and helping my parents, I would hope that no one would adopt some of the kids we cared for because I, WE, our family, were attached to them. I would see Americans come to pick them out or select them and I would frantically try to disuade them (when my parents went around) ..."ah no, this kid cries too much, this baby has colic"...any excuse to turn them away, until my Dad would thunk me on the head and shoo me out of the room. <br /><br /> After the baby was adopted I would cry. I would wonder how they were, or did they miss our food, or would they ever remember me? I wondered about them and their new homes and new families and felt jealous. I would also get anxious as I knew the news would spread and the birth mothers would get wind that their child had been adopted. I would anticpate what I would tell them if they asked me. My Father had strict policies and wouldn't divulge information, but I was loose and figured his rules didn't apply to me, so I would tell anyone who asked and slowly the "mothers" figured that out and would seek me out on the train or in the market...psst psst..."Little-ming...do you know what happen to my baby?"<br /> Usually I lied, "WA they are doing great! They got adopted by RICH family, they got PHD now...they eat so good they got FAT!" I wanted them to feel bad they gave up such a nice baby, but actually I felt bad too that they got adopted. I missed them.<br /><br />Only decades later did I realize that actually my lies were true. A few times I have met them as adults or teenagers...sometimes 20 or 30 years later. Happy. Normal. They seemed to have no sense of me or my family or our mission at all. <br /><br />I began to learn of the the extraordinary journeys that couples would make, like you, to adopt these children that had temporarily been in our care. I had this new respect, wonder, even awe of them. Nothing about the adoption process is an accident or causual or even natural as it is when children are born into families. Indeed dear one, it is not for the faint of heart. <br /><br />Even in the vast orphanages of China, many inadequate to be sure, there are children who sparkle with life and spirit and who survive and thrive no matter what. QQ has all this in her. But I think this spirit in her was in some small part given to her by those who surrounded her from the moment she was born. People who knew where hope and possibilities for Q might exist. I am pretty sure she was loved until she was placed in your arms. They loved her as best they could. I speak for them. They are proud of you and your husband. They have respect and awe for what you have done. They feel joy for Lucky QQ and they send you all the love you need to keep leaning forward.<br />My heart is full of love for you too dear stranger.Jeanne-ming Brantinghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16289074358298750184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432519807740136926.post-77506883259201424512009-06-24T22:36:29.360-07:002009-06-24T22:36:29.360-07:00"If we fall in the race,
Though we win the ho..."If we fall in the race,<br />Though we win the hoof-slide is marred on the course.<br />Though Allah and Earth pardon sin<br />Remaineth forever remorse."<br /><br />R. Kipling<br /><br />You know our story. <br /><br />I can only hope that when can you finally open that book your thoughts and feelings are at peace. Whatever the beginning, what matters most is the journey. You three have become a love-laden caravan, and all I can hope is the best for you on your own Silk Road.FDChiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1432519807740136926.post-82177867057199678852009-06-24T17:12:18.928-07:002009-06-24T17:12:18.928-07:00Very well said Maia. It is two tales in one. It is...Very well said Maia. It is two tales in one. It is the one we imagine and the one we confront. There is no feasible way to prepare. If you are lucky you click from the get go, if not, you learn together as time passes. Regarless of how you arrive at your destination, it changes you forever.Yolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06068063513978782703noreply@blogger.com