Sunday, December 11, 2005
Our Other Star...Jesse
While Zoe is clearly the star of this blog, let's remember big brother Jesse's role in day-to-day operations.
Much like Ted Williams' head, Jesse's own place in cyberspace was cryogenically frozen in time back in 2002, when the last update was made to the Jesseplex (the state of the art in kid websites from the last millenium). Jesse is now six and doing incredibly well in the first grade.
Our adoption journey began shortly before Jesse's fourth birthday. Jesse has always been very perceptive; we knew there would be lots of talk on the phone and with friends and family about our plans. So from the outset, we decided it would be best to be up front with him so we wouldn't have to whisper and talk in code.
We showed him a map of the world and pointed out our location, then way off to the right we showed him a far-off land called Russia. Summoning the ghosts of Robert Young, Hugh Beaumont and Robert Reed, I told Jesse that somewhere in Russia was a little girl (we were always planning on a girl) who didn't have a mommy or daddy. Then I moved on to talk about how some babies, like Jesse, came out of their mommies' tummies.
Before I could get to the point of the long-winded diatribe, Jesse quickly interrupted me. "Are we going to adopt her?"
With that, we knew Jesse was onboard with "Project Tatiana," as we code-named the operation. From that day continuing for the next two years, Jesse proudly talked to everybody about his baby sister in Russia, who he knew only conceptually for the year before our referral, and then only through our photos for another year. Jesse's patience, whether genuine or part of a secret desire to remain an only child just a little while longer, helped us get through some very tough moments.
From their first meeting, Jesse and Zoe embraced each other with open arms and have been inseparable. Jesse grabs her hand when we're out in public and makes sure to introduce her to each new acquaintance, unsolicited. They are playmates and best friends. When they're not together, each will ask about the other's whereabouts. There is a little teasing and taunting, but usually there's constant laughter whenever they're together.
There is a word in Yiddish--b'shert--which expresses the idea that something is meant to be, destined. If anyone out there happens to be publishing a Yiddish dictionary with pictures, feel free to use this one royalty-free. ¶ 8:11 PM
Much like Ted Williams' head, Jesse's own place in cyberspace was cryogenically frozen in time back in 2002, when the last update was made to the Jesseplex (the state of the art in kid websites from the last millenium). Jesse is now six and doing incredibly well in the first grade.
Our adoption journey began shortly before Jesse's fourth birthday. Jesse has always been very perceptive; we knew there would be lots of talk on the phone and with friends and family about our plans. So from the outset, we decided it would be best to be up front with him so we wouldn't have to whisper and talk in code.
We showed him a map of the world and pointed out our location, then way off to the right we showed him a far-off land called Russia. Summoning the ghosts of Robert Young, Hugh Beaumont and Robert Reed, I told Jesse that somewhere in Russia was a little girl (we were always planning on a girl) who didn't have a mommy or daddy. Then I moved on to talk about how some babies, like Jesse, came out of their mommies' tummies.
Before I could get to the point of the long-winded diatribe, Jesse quickly interrupted me. "Are we going to adopt her?"
With that, we knew Jesse was onboard with "Project Tatiana," as we code-named the operation. From that day continuing for the next two years, Jesse proudly talked to everybody about his baby sister in Russia, who he knew only conceptually for the year before our referral, and then only through our photos for another year. Jesse's patience, whether genuine or part of a secret desire to remain an only child just a little while longer, helped us get through some very tough moments.
From their first meeting, Jesse and Zoe embraced each other with open arms and have been inseparable. Jesse grabs her hand when we're out in public and makes sure to introduce her to each new acquaintance, unsolicited. They are playmates and best friends. When they're not together, each will ask about the other's whereabouts. There is a little teasing and taunting, but usually there's constant laughter whenever they're together.
There is a word in Yiddish--b'shert--which expresses the idea that something is meant to be, destined. If anyone out there happens to be publishing a Yiddish dictionary with pictures, feel free to use this one royalty-free. ¶ 8:11 PM
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