Good Books and Procrastination

This summer I read a really good book called Mamalita  It is about Jessica O'Dwyer's struggle to bring her adopted daughter home from Guatemala.  It was a book I couldn't put down.  I forget how I found it but Jessica has a blog and to order the book I wound up on Amazon.  There, I got caught in the "other people that bought this book also bought this book" line.  It was from this that I found a book on reactive attachment disorder, not a good book to read if you are considering adopting an older child, but a heart wrenching story of the trials and tribulations of one family to welcome a daughter into their home.  The other book that was recommended was a child's picture book called "I Wished For You".  Many of the books I have seen on adoption for children are focused towards a specific country, or detail the phone call in the middle of the night, or the journey and subsequent airplane ride to meet and collect the child.  They always almost feature a couple, husband and wife.  I bought  I Wished For You by Marianne Richmond blind so to speak on Amazon UK.  The link I have set up for it is to a wonderful children's bookstore in Vancouver called Kidsbooks  If you live locally and don't know it, you have to go for a visit with a wallet full of cash or your credit card!!!!

  "I Wished For You" is the conversation between a mother bear and her little bear and the story about how they became a family.  The soft watercolour illustrations and beautiful text make the book a real keepsake.  I found the book especially wonderful because it is mama bear telling the story and no offence to any men reading this blog, but as there is no father bear in my child's life the book became more meaningful to me.  From my single parent viewpoint it was an absolutely perfect story.  It is a very gentle and loving story as mama takes the time to answer all little bear's questions.  Little bear asks questions like, "What did you do when you first held me?"  He also asks if it is okay that they don't look like, again wonderful for all of us going down the road of an international adoption.  I can't praise this book enough and almost feel like it is was written for me.  My only hope is that one day I get to actually sit in my comfy chair with my little one on my lap and read it to him or her.  If you are adopting you have to get this book for your library.  If you know people that have adopted or in the process this book would be a wonderful gift.

Another good book that kind of fits into adoption but is about families is And Tango Makes Three  It is the true story of two male penguins in a zoo in New York who after trying unsuccessfully to hatch an egg (aka - a rock etc), with the aid of the zoo keeper hatch an egg and then raise the chick.  They are wonderful parents and so happy to have a chick they can love, nurture and watch grow.  My class last year loved this book.  Thank you to a visiting district colleague for sharing this book.

If I were to ever receive an award for anything I think it would be for procrastination.  Usually this is to avoid house work, this weekend it was all about school work!!!!!   I cleaned and cleaned and wish I could have kept cleaning.  I forgot all about a letter I was going to write to my students' parents until my school bag fell off the back seat of my car this morning and I was picking up the contents.  Wouldn't you know, I didn't write it tonight either.  This is so not like me it is scary!!!!!  I have to phone TDH, an agency, in Ontario about another country in the next couple of days.  With some documents so time sensitive I am waiting for my home study to be completely "signed off" before I proceed with the medical from my GP and a criminal record check.  Both of these are six month documents. 

 I am sending this blog out tonight and would love to hear what you think.  I still don't have an answer on whether it is a wise idea but I obviously am not going to journal it 'traditionally' at this point.  I had hoped to, so as to have a record for my child to hold.  Call me old fashioned but there is something about being able to hold something.