Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Question

The Question that I had been waiting for finally arrived, and while I had been expecting it for some time, I was not quite prepared for it. I'm not sure that a parent can ever be truly prepared for these questions, but you simply do the best you can. You answer as honestly as possibly, while taking into consideration your own child, and hope that you said the right thing.
After completing Bubba's nap time routine (read a book, 1/2 cup of milk, sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Rock-a-Bye Baby, ABC song, and say his prayers), he stopped drinking his milk and looked at me. I knew some sort of questions was brewing, but I wasn't sure what. Then he began:
"Baby grew in your tummy?"
"Yes."
"Baby was in your tummy, then Mommy and Daddy picked her up from the hospital?"
"Yes..." *This is when I figured it out!!
"Mommy and Daddy picked me up from Guatemala?"
"Yeesss..."
"Baby was in your tummy when Mommy and Daddy got on a plane and picked me up from my house at Guatemala?"
"Yes..."
Then there was a pause in the questioning. He looked at me with pleading eyes, as if to say "OK...I've got something going on in my brain but I can't figure out how to ask it."
So... I gave him a little help and said, "And you want to know when you were in Mommy's tummy?"
"YEAH!" he exclaimed, looking at me as if I had just read his mind.
"You didn't grow in Mommy's tummy. You grew in another lady's tummy until you were big enough to come out. Then Mommy and Daddy ("and Baby in your tummy" he interjected, predicting what I was about to say.) flew down to pick you up in Guatemala. We brought you back to live with us and be our little boy forever. Mommy and Daddy love you very much, and you will live with us forever."
"Yeah. OK!" he said. "Where are we going after nap?"
I laughed and knew I must have satisfied his curiosity because he was on to the next topic. I'm not sure that I answered his question in the way that I should have or the way that the experts suggest, but I did the best I could. Our goal is to be as open and honest with him as possible, but I also don't want to give too much information at such a young age. He now wants to watch a movie on Guatemala, so I am actively searching for him. This new baby has peaked his curiosity in adoption in ways that I never could have imagined. While I am thankful for the opportunity to talk with him about it, I am also nervous that I will say something wrong.

1 comment:

Susan said...

You did awesome. You put a BIG smile on my face. More questions will come in the future, but you have set a wonderful foundation for your family.

Georgia uh! Not Jorga? (I like it phoenetically.)

Families are fun! Enjoy each day and create memories.