Friday morning as I was driving Alina Jayne to pre-school, she decided she wanted us to “tell stories.” It was the first official day of spring, and she told a story about the start of spring and the sun and the birds. Then she decided she wanted me to tell a story. Since I have not yet finished writing her Lifebook, I thought I would tell her another story about her beginnings, and how she became our daughter. Keep in mind, this is nothing new-we talk about this all the time.
I began my story like I usually do. “Once upon a time in a land far away called China, a Chinese woman had a baby in her tummy. One day that baby was born, but the Chinese Mama could not keep her. China called us and said they had a baby, and asked if we could be her Mama and Daddy. Daddy and I said yes, and we got on a plane and flew over the ocean to bring that baby home. That baby is you, our Alina Jayne, and you will be our girl forever.”
Silence...........(actually, many seconds of silence). I looked in the rear view mirror and am pretty sure I saw Alina Jayne subtly rolling her eyes. Finally she said “Mama, that is NOT my favorite story. Let me tell you how it really happened. Once upon a time in a land far, far away named China, a China Tummy Mama had a baby she could not keep. So you and Daddy came and got me and I am Alina Jayne. Now I am home and I am never going back to China. THE END. There Mama, that is how it goes.”
……she was only 15 months old when we adopted her from China. I guess she knows it better than we do!
