Comments for The Dalai Mama

Comment on The Fate of Ethiopian Adoption by mp

mp — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:17:57 +0000

Yah, I kinda remember two gals called you and I who were having fits over the 3 month referral wait the first time…. (-:

Comment on The Fate of Ethiopian Adoption by The Dalai Mama

The Dalai Mama — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:13:33 +0000

Kristen,
I agree about being hopeful. But I also think it’s important especially with all eyes focused on Ethiopian adoption that we be a little less vocal in our expectations and criticism when those expectations are not met. I am not talking about those who wait 7-12 months for a referral. We waited just over 8 months for the referral of our baby girl, Zoë. There is so much complaining out there by families who might have to wait 6 months and why so long and why did so and so get a referral with such and such agency before we did, etc. It is hard and I have to admit that my first wait–14 weeks for Noah was so hard and I struggled and I didn’t once think about what it meant that I would get a referral. I didn’t once think about the woman who was giving me this great gift. We have to celebrate the beginning of our families while balancing the sadness at the ending of another.

Thank you for calling me out on my own difficulties and reminding me of that anticipation and excitement and the struggle that is waiting.

Comment on The Fate of Ethiopian Adoption by Kristen

Kristen — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:33:11 +0000

I agree with what you say. Adoption is important for the children that have been left behind, and as parents of these beautiful children, it is up to us to raise awareness of the problems so that the number of children given up may lessen some day.

One quibble, “So, if it takes too long–deal with it.” I think this is a little harsh. I agree that every referral given means that a tragedy is behind it. We can’t help look into our child’s eyes and realize that. But, I don’t think that it is wrong to hope for a referral, and get sad when one takes longer than thought. These tragedies are soon to be turned into joy, and that cannot be ignored either. Adoption has a sad side, and blessed side. I’ve read your blog for a while now, and I know that you yourself, as well as me and many others have had difficulty in the waiting, and that is ok. We can’t constantly live with the guilt that our joy is from someone else’s sorrow, at some point we have to realize that they were placed in our families for a reason.

I also am very happy with AAI, and would recommend them to anyone for how honest and caring they are. They truly want to make a difference.

Comment on The Fate of Ethiopian Adoption by But Why Mommy

But Why Mommy — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:32:38 +0000

Thank you for raising this issue. We are just beginning the homestudy process for our Ethiopian adoption and I have been thinking about some of these issues. I will check the discussion on the yahoo board for more info.

Comment on Maybe He Does Watch Entirely Too Much TV by Becky

Becky — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:34:30 +0000

LOL! My 5 yr. old will surely grow up to be in advertising. He remembers all the commercials and tries to “sell” me the items.
Becky

Comment on Private or Public, That is The Question by sarah

sarah — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:50:13 +0000

hey, we should talk about this. did you go to the new city open house??? sarahs last blog post..In case you were wondering…

Comment on Maybe He Does Watch Entirely Too Much TV by mp

mp — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:36:24 +0000

Hey, with an infant and a 2-yr-old in the house, its just basic survival. Minnow will still be valedictorian despite having watched over the rda of TV in ‘08 (-:

Comment on Private or Public, That is The Question by mp

mp — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:25:20 +0000

Hey there. Of course I had to chime in on this (-:

On our homeschool to public school we hated back to homeschool to different public school we love… this is what I’ve learned. Class size is absolutely critical. The public school & preschools we love have capped class sizes, and it makes a HUGE difference. Also, go with your gut on the atmosphere of the place. You should feel at home there, you should feel comfortable with administrators and teachers, and you should have full access to your child whenever you want. Look for “open door” policies on classrooms and for teachers who welcome parents. Don’t base everything on test-scores, school scores, etc., or even on teacher qualifications. Some of our kids’ best teachers aren’t technically teachers by education - they are teaching on variances. Look for lots of heart, lots of commitment, and see if the teacher’s themselves have their own kids enrolled at the school.

As for pre-school, neither of our big guys did formal preschool, and both are excelling. I know teachers who don’t send their own kids to preschool either, and their kids are doing great, too. I recently read an article in one of hubby’s science journals that compared all the different influences on a child’s early education, and the factor with the most impact on the child’s educational success is their mother’s level of education. This was ranked beyond preschool programming, but preschool is something we as a society can control and provide for all kids to help them start out on equal footing; a kid pretty much gets the mom they get (-:

You’re so smart and you know what you want…be choosey and good luck! Sorry so long!

Comment on Private or Public, That is The Question by Diane Carr

Diane Carr — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:19:28 +0000

Here is my condensed version of a very long story about schools. We lucked out and put our daughter in a Montessori preschool not knowing much about the philosophy but loved the feel and approach. She thrived there for 3 years. Then we bought a teeny house in the highest rated school district only to have her not want to go to school… now she is back in a private montessori and loving it. I am a former public school teacher so I really never thought we would go private. I can’t say enough good things about the montessori method. Let me know if you would like more info.

Comment on Private or Public, That is The Question by Dana

Dana — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:45:13 +0000

One more thing. Waldorf does educate the whole child.

Check out http://www.awsna.org

whywaldorfworks.com

Danas last blog post..There Is No Me Without You