Eight years ago this month, we left for the second of two trips to Kaliningrad, Russia, to complete the adoption of our sons Connor and Joseph. Connor was almost four at the time, while Joseph was just a baby, not even eight months old.
The ensuing years have been a mixed bag, a tale of two children. Joseph has thrived and grown and become a smart and happy young lad heading off to third grade in a few weeks. Connor's journey has been difficult, including repeated hospitalizations, multiple school placements, a revolving door of physicians and hurt in the family, both literal and figurative.
Living with Connor has meant living with loss and learning about conditions we've never heard of and accepting the realities of life with a child who will never learn to read or write and who requires almost constant attention. Living with Connor has meant working with some superb professionals and some people in professional positions who are almost hopelessly inept.
Life with Joseph has been a rewarding journey. We met Joseph in a decrepit Russian orphanage on a blisteringly hot June day in 2002 and fell for him like a ton of bricks. A little league game with Joseph, a day at the beach, an afternoon of catching frogs all serve as a reminder of the graces we have been given and of lives shared and written together.
The narrative, the story, of two boys adopted from an enigmatic corner of the old Soviet empire is a story of extremes, of bright days and dark moments, and of a family, but for the grace of God, would never have been together. The fact that such a family can survive and prosper eight years into such a journey is cause for celebration.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Nothing to carp about
Eight-year old Joseph has long held a dim view of the Looking Glass river as a source of productive fishing. The stretch running through DeWitt, in particular, has been anthema to the youngest member of the family, until Monday.
Recent crawfishing trips to the Looking Glass at the Riverfront Park in DeWitt turned up signs of a thriving carp population, however, and on Dad's afternoon off, we headed to the Park, hooked up some worms, and cast our lines under the Bridge Street bridge. Over the next couple of hours, Joseph was rewarded with four large carp and three smallmouth bass. The carp, in particular, were whoppers, with the largest topping out at around two feet long and weighing close to 10 pounds.
I have never been a fisherman and likely wouldn't even own a fishing pole were it not for Joseph. The joy of fishing with Joseph is in watching a little boy land a big fish all on his own and seeing other kids coming over from the playground to see what he caught. Our Monday at the Looking Glass is a reminder as well that it's often the most prosaic activities that we remember best- because a young boy will likely remember a couple of hours on a Monday afternoon for his whole life.
Recent crawfishing trips to the Looking Glass at the Riverfront Park in DeWitt turned up signs of a thriving carp population, however, and on Dad's afternoon off, we headed to the Park, hooked up some worms, and cast our lines under the Bridge Street bridge. Over the next couple of hours, Joseph was rewarded with four large carp and three smallmouth bass. The carp, in particular, were whoppers, with the largest topping out at around two feet long and weighing close to 10 pounds.
I have never been a fisherman and likely wouldn't even own a fishing pole were it not for Joseph. The joy of fishing with Joseph is in watching a little boy land a big fish all on his own and seeing other kids coming over from the playground to see what he caught. Our Monday at the Looking Glass is a reminder as well that it's often the most prosaic activities that we remember best- because a young boy will likely remember a couple of hours on a Monday afternoon for his whole life.
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