I know it’s truly fall, because one of our neighbors called Alesia after school and asked if she could come help her rake up the leaves piled in her front yard. She is a widow, and Alesia was glad to help. The leaves are at their peak around here, but maybe they are turning the corner, because they are falling quickly now.
Michael was very proud of himself because he had all A’s and B’s on his report card. It’s sort of remarkable, given some tests he recently screwed up, but of course there are lots of ways to make good grades and he does well on his homework, with help.
Alesia did well too, but had C’s in Algebra and Chemistry. I asked her how she planned to pull those grades up and she looked embarrassed. “I hope you’re not so distracted by DN that you’re neglecting your grades,” said Mother. I looked at her, nodding. Alesia looked embarrassed. “NO!” she protested.
“Alesia, you need to get your grades up, OK, for college, right?” I reminded her.
She assured us she would work on those grades. She is close to a B in both classes.
I was SO excited to see the mail today. My friend Teresa Kelleher’s book arrived, Snowflakes: A Flurry of Adoption Stories. Michael’s story of his early life is in there, as well as a small piece I wrote. It’s a beautiful book, and filled with fascinating writing by both adopted children and adoptive parents and fmaily members. Most of the essays are not long. Anyone thinking of adopting a child should read the book. Adopted children past 5th grade or so will enjoy it, too.
Michael re-read his essay thoughtfully. He wrote it more than a year ago. It recalls some painful memories from his time with his birthmom. I patted his back as he read. "You should be very proud, Michael. I am VERY proud of you, Sweetie."
Here you can see more about it, from Teresa’s website. You can order it from Amazon here. What a great Christmas gift!
