After a long drought, comments have returned. And for that I am most grateful.
I get traffic numbers every day and see that people are reading, but rarely commenting. It's hard putting stuff out there and not knowing if people find it meaningful or helpful or wrong-minded (I am certainly open to people who disagree with me!) So I sincerely appreciate anyone who takes the time to leave a comment.
If you'd like to offer me ideas on how to make the blog better, I'd love to hear them. And if you'd rather email me than leave a comment, the address is jspitz at azstarnet.com
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Finally, an Old McDonald's visit that doesn't depress me
Quinn loves visiting the playland at "Old McDonald's," as he calls it. For me, each visit is a new level of sadness. There was the baby Quinn suddenly and without warning knocked down, causing everyone who saw it to gasp in unison. The time I heard screaming from inside the play structure - not Quinn's, but I instinctively knew who was causing it -- and high-tailed it up the slide to find out I was right. The grandfather who glared at us for a good 20 minutes, even as he was leaving, because he mistakenly thought Quinn had bumped his beloved angel while he was spinning. The place seems to exacerbate Quinn's sensory-seeking nature in ways that looks a lot like serious disciplinary problems.
And that's not the worst of it. Each time we visit we watch kids make friends and play together. Other than when things go south, Quinn generally doesn't even acknowledge any other children. Finally, it's cute to watch kids make it to the top of the play structure and then holler or wave down at their parents. Quinn gets up there and does his own thing, in his own world, until we tell him it's time to go or the food has arrived.
It reached the point where we stopped going about six months ago. And then this morning, with my husband out of town and me looking to run down Quinn's battery before his final assembly and performance at Chinese School, he asked if we could go to Old McDonald's.
So we did.
And what a difference.
First, he scampered to the top and yelled down to me. Then he stuck his face against the inside of a bubble-shaped window and hollered at me, "Are you inside the bubble?" After a bit a little girl and her grandma came in to eat breakfast, but Grandma wanted to leave before the girl got to play. Quinn watched her the whole time and then asked, "Is the little girl not going to play?" Later on he asked, "Is a kid going to come play?" He actually noticed kids, and he wanted to play with them!
To another parent, this was hardly anything. To me, it was everything.
And that's not the worst of it. Each time we visit we watch kids make friends and play together. Other than when things go south, Quinn generally doesn't even acknowledge any other children. Finally, it's cute to watch kids make it to the top of the play structure and then holler or wave down at their parents. Quinn gets up there and does his own thing, in his own world, until we tell him it's time to go or the food has arrived.
It reached the point where we stopped going about six months ago. And then this morning, with my husband out of town and me looking to run down Quinn's battery before his final assembly and performance at Chinese School, he asked if we could go to Old McDonald's.
So we did.
And what a difference.
First, he scampered to the top and yelled down to me. Then he stuck his face against the inside of a bubble-shaped window and hollered at me, "Are you inside the bubble?" After a bit a little girl and her grandma came in to eat breakfast, but Grandma wanted to leave before the girl got to play. Quinn watched her the whole time and then asked, "Is the little girl not going to play?" Later on he asked, "Is a kid going to come play?" He actually noticed kids, and he wanted to play with them!
To another parent, this was hardly anything. To me, it was everything.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Well, this is cool
Do some shopping in May at any of these 58 cool-looking sites and they'll give 10 percent to the Sparrow Fund, which helps kids in orphanages and helps fund adoptions.
DTD = Quinn
Wow. Someone posted this in the Yahoo group for Quinn's orphanage, and it just about knocked me out of my chair.
Scroll down to the stuff about Developmental Trauma Disorder. Quinn looks so much like at ADHD kid in so many ways, but I've never believed that he is. I guess I'm not alone...
This article isn't exactly light reading, but if you adopted internationally, you might see some stuff you recognize!
Scroll down to the stuff about Developmental Trauma Disorder. Quinn looks so much like at ADHD kid in so many ways, but I've never believed that he is. I guess I'm not alone...
This article isn't exactly light reading, but if you adopted internationally, you might see some stuff you recognize!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
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