If I see another Cracker Barrel, I just might scream.
Central Florida to Central New York -- this is the longest road trip we've ever attempted. Mike and I are on our way to speak at a church missions conference in Scipio, NY. Visiting Grandma on the way up and on the way back will be a real treat, and hopefully we'll even squeeze in a day in D.C. Three cheers for having a reliable vehicle that can make a long trip.
Using the search engine at Six Suitcase Travel, I found a great hotel for us tonight. Our room has two queen beds and a queen sleeper sofa, so it comfortably sleeps all six of us. I included the link because in the past, I've found it really difficult to find hotel rooms for our family of six. At some hotels our only option is two adjoining rooms which gets pretty expensive. The room tonight includes breakfast tomorrow morning, and with our corporate discount it was $84 including taxes and fees. That seems like a steal to me.
So for the next couple of weeks I'll be homeschooling and blogging from the road. And as I think about future posts, I have a question for you.
What topics would you like to see discussed here at Death by Great Wall? The sky's the limit because while I might not be qualified to address that one special issue that's been nagging at you, I'd love to find a guest blogger who is qualified. I have this dream to make Death by Great Wall one of the best resources around for parents considering older child adoption. But to do that, I need your input.
Have an idea that's off topic -- a little outside of the older child adoption box -- that you think might work here? I'm open to those as well.
Throw out all your ideas -- even ones that might seem silly to you. I'm listening.
Who wants to go first?
Oh my you are brave! We did that drive once from Michigan to Florida and swore we would never drive so far again. Now thankfully we live closer.
ReplyDeleteI think we've lost our minds. Hopefully, we'll make some fun memories.
DeleteThe trip will be terrific. We do Maryland to South Carolina (8-9 hours) and Maryland to NORTHERN Michigan (think almost Canada, 14-15 hour drive always done in 1 day) nearly every year for the past 30+. We've even done the "Great Circle" (Maryland to South Carolina to Michigan to Maryland) with 3 kids under 8 in a Mazda Protege years ago. One year the kids were into the Cats musical, so we heard songs from that all the way to Michigan. Mind you, no one in our family was gifted with a singing voice. That was an entertaining trip. Traveling with our kids has always been a geed experience. You'll have a blast. Wave as you go through Maryland!
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra! I'll be waving today!
DeleteWhere in Central Florida? We live in CF, too. Would love to see the topic of parental attachment addressed. A lot is written about getting our kids to attach, but it is the "unspoken topic", those parents who are struggling with their kids' behaviors and are having a hard time attaching to their kids.
ReplyDeleteHi momofeight. Maybe we can meet in real life sometimes. Send me an email for more details. I try not to overshare personal info like our exact location on the blog. (I walk this line very closely, I realize.) Attachment in parents is, indeed, the unspoken topic in adoption. I will look for a good blogger to address it.
DeleteRecently, someone wrote and asked me if I knew any male adult adoptees who might be willing to share their experiences of being adopted. If you know someone who might be willing to write a guest post, or allow me to interview them, please send me their contact info.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I are pursuing an international adoption and are prayerfully considering older child adoption. We would love to read a blog post about older children adjusting to pets (we have 4 large dogs). We have read that older adoption children do adjust to large dogs, but we have not found any specifics about how families facilitated this introduction and adjustment period.
ReplyDeleteWe would also love to read a blog post about how/if/when families take their older adopted child camping/backpacking.
This might be odd requests, but we cannot seem to find any information on these two specific issues.
Thanks!
Wow! I can see how the large dogs would be something you'd need to think about. I'd love to have a guest blogger talk about how they handled introducing a newly adopted child to pets. The camping/backpacking issue is good as well. Those aren't odd requests. Since they are part of your family culture, you're smart to be thinking about how to introduce them to your new child.
DeleteI've got one for you. 6 months ago we adopted an 8 year old boy from China. He's great, well attached as you can be 6 months in. Yesterday, while watching TV with my husband he declares, "I don't like black people." We thought a lot about racism he may experience once here but racism from him is sort out of left field. We tried to address this with him but kept running into the language wall. Anyone else run into this one?
ReplyDeleteIt's those things we don't expect that always throw us. I would imagine he didn't see a lot of black people in China. Perhaps he never saw a anyone of African heritage in person before you adopted him. So while that statement is emotionally loaded with our racist history here, I bet for him, he is just scared of people who look very different.
Deleteoh wow, that's a really long long trip. Yes, hope you make some good and unforgettable experience along the way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning my site. Glad you find it helpful. Safe travels!
ReplyDeletefunny...I have been wanting to email you with ideas about blog posts. I sometimes wish I had the energy to blog about our experience...so thanks for yours! :)
ReplyDelete-the joy and challenges of explaining the truth of God and His Son to a 6 year old (or older!) who has never heard of the Bible
-the mama bear anger that flares up when our child shares the "hard stories" they encountered prior to coming home....and ultimately extending forgiveness to anyone who hurt them
-your recent post about parenting these children differently and all the things that extends to: education, bedtime, meal time......explaining to the differences to older siblings
-how learning new ways of parenting this older adopted child [might] make you a better parent to your other children
-what toys/books/food to have on hand when you first return home [from China] (Even though our son is 6, we found toddler toys best which he has already moved on from and is now playing with "preschool" and more typical toys you would expect to see a 6 year old with....he is already learning how to play board games
-to try to maintain knowledge of Chinese language or not? (We have found a once/week Chinese school which our son LOVES attending. Our hope is that he will be able to retain his native language AND eventually learn to read/write in it......we'll see if we can keep up with it! ;)
-I wish I had known how similar bringing him home would be to having a newborn....the sleepless nights, the complete upheaval in routine, etc.
-I wish I could figure out NOW what to cut from our very full schedule/routines....what are the essentials and what can be 'let go'....will I ever be able to exercise again? Forget going to a gym--I would just like to go for a walk! :) How do I express that to others without sounding like I am complaining? We are so happy and thankful to have him in our family but we are TIRED!