A friend of mine asked me the other day about how to go about talking to her 4 year-old from Ukraine about the fact that he is adopted, and how to tell him his story. Alison hasn't looked at her lifebook in quite a few months...maybe even a year? She's six, and talks about China and is well aware of the fact that she is adopted, but it occured to me that she hasn't really asked any questions lately. Which is fine. But I also thought that it might be time to pull out the lifebook again. She has a great story, which I tell her often. She was born in a very wonderful place, full of culture and history. She was loved in the orphanage and learned to hug and rock to music and clap when she was happy. She has eight "sisters" from her orphanage that were adopted at the same time. We all traipsed around China for two weeks together before we all traveled back to the US, forever changed with new babies in our arms. The best part of her story is that she nestled right into a family that loves her like crazy. It's probably a good time to tell that story again and let her ask the questions - or just watch her smile and move on to something else after we've read the lifebook (which is usually how it goes).
