Aliya brought a few things with her when we picked her up in Ethiopia. This was one of them. A very, very precious treasure. It's a picture of her on a beach outing with a friend. I don't know how old she is here but I'm guessing maybe 9?
She is so cute, isn't she?
This is precious for so many reasons. It's a special gift to have a piece of your history in the form of pictures or momentos. Not everyone has those things. We take them for granted here but we shouldn't assume everyone has the same physical memories that we have.
Aliya had her final choir concert last night. It's her final middle school concert ever. They made it special by having the kids bring a picture of them as a baby and then a current picture and while they sang a couple songs, the pictures played in the background. Such a great idea, but what if Aliya hadn't had *this* one picture of herself? She would have been the only kid not to have one. I can tell you what she'd have done. She wouldn't have wanted to even go to that concert and as stubborn as that girl is, she would have stayed home. And I wouldn't have blamed her. Ouch. That would have hurt and been such a reminder that life was hard and wasn't fair to her.
So if you are a teacher please remember this:) These kind of assignments can remind our kids who were older when they joined our families that they are not equal with the other kids.
Anyway, off my soap box:)
As I watched Aliya last night standing in the first row of altos, I thought, "This looks like a girl who has always lived her and been in this school." She looked so comfortable and happy. She danced and did the motions to the songs. She giggled and interacted with the girl next to her, like they'd been friends all their lives. I was so proud of her.
It's hard to believe she's only been here just over a year now. She's getting more comfortable and at home. The first year had some pretty rough parts but now we're all finding our groove and it feels so good!
Truly, God does not give us more than we can handle:)
Blessings,
Laura
Oh my GOSH! That photo of her is precious! I know she will cherish it one day.
ReplyDeleteUGH! about how the schools act with these things. Seriously where is the love for ALL of them and where they came from. Not all children have photos. So glad it worked out and you were able to rejoice in seeing your beautiful girl be so naturally HERSELF!
Hugs and love!
Jill