My wife and I recently adopted a son from Ethiopia. It will either be the most rewarding and challenging experience of my life---or it will kill me. Just kidding.
It is amazing where life takes you. Actually, I’m thrilled to be a new father again, after raising two sons (ages 25 and 23) from a previous marriage. Believe me; many of my friends have questioned my sanity. But I knew this was “part of the deal” when I married my wonderful wife, Melissa, three years ago. And I can think of no better way to “give back” in the remaining years of my life than to help raise a beautiful toddler boy to adulthood.
We got back from Ethiopia on January 8th. We spent ten days there, staying primarily at the guest house of the adoption agency we worked with (Children’s Home Society and Family Services). We were able to spend a couple of days sightseeing in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. A large and bustling city that offers sights, sounds and smells that I never thought in a million years I’d be experiencing. But the people are beautiful and so were the countryside and the mountains. Perfect weather too. Sunny and 78 degrees each and every day.
All the trials and tribulations we went through in this long process, and there were many, all seemed to disappear when we were finally introduced to Yirgalem on this trip. We even had the opportunity to travel several hours to the region where Yirgie was born. And we had a brief yet emotional meeting with his father. And the sight of his eyes lighting up when he saw the latest picture of his son was something I’ll never forget. We received his blessing to raise his boy and we promised to do the best we could to provide all that his father wanted for him.
I’ll say this---CHSFS does a wonderful job “transitioning” the kids from the orphanage to our care. It was little by little, day by day. Of course, there is a whole lot more transitioning that needs to take place here in Wisconsin and it is happening---but it is going to take a while and patience is the key thing. But our boy is generally healthy (yet tiny) with the normal problems associated with bringing somebody over from Africa. We plan on calling him Nathan or Nate and he slowly, but surely, getting used to his new name. We will keep Yirgalem for his middle name and we will make sure he is aware and proud of his cultural heritage.
He’s wailing right now as I write this (teething big time) and I’m running on fumes on this day with not much sleep. But to see his wonderful friendly smile each and every day makes it all worth it. I hope you all can see that in the picture nearby.
-- Reviewed by Kevin Johnson
I wish you guys nothing but the best during the transition! From all of the photos you have sent, I have a hard time believing he still won’t be the happy little guy he is during it all.
Posted by: Christine Rojewski | January 27, 2010 at 10:32 AM
He is cute! Is that a drum he's sitting next to? If so, which of your sadistic relatives gave him a drum? :-)
Posted by: Ken Krause | January 28, 2010 at 03:36 PM
I wish there were more people like you and your wife in this world!
Posted by: Donna G. | January 29, 2010 at 10:42 AM