One of those endlessly circulating emails - but a nice msg:
At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the former students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.
After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'
The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'
Then he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'l l try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.
Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'. Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!' As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world.'
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
CHOIR
This group comes recommended by several people on the various ETH adoption lists. It is based in W Canada, but works with people across Canada to benefit the world's neediest children - esp in ETH and Haiti.
For example, they have a child sponsorship program in ETH:
For only $30 a month you can provide one of the children in the Kid's Hope project with shelter, food, clothing, access to an education and life skills training. In return, sponsors will receive at least two updates and photos per year and are encouaraged to correspond with their sponsored child by email or mail.
Or, interested donors can sponsor LiGA School or the PATH Ethiopia Literacy, Educational and Vocational Center for only $30 a month. Donors to these two projects will receive updates at least twice a year and photos of the children who benefit from these centers.
My dishes went unwashed today ...
My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.
Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky
We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.
We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.
We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.
That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.
But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.
Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky
We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.
We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.
We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.
That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.
But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.
Author: Unknown
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Word of the Day: Latitudinarian
Pronunciation:
[læ-tê-tyu-dê-'ne-ri-yên or læ-dê-]
Definition: Tolerating diversity of belief and behavior, particularly with reference to religion; favoring latitude in thought or conduct.
Usage: For decades we have been calling our intolerant neighbors "bigots." Did you ever wonder what the antonym of "bigot" is? Today's adjective may be used as a noun, as is, to fill this lacuna in many of our vocabularies. The other noun is "latitudinarianism."
Suggested Usage: Vociferous racial latitudinarians were effective in changing opinions of the Silent Majority in the 60s but the convictions of some latitudinarians were sorely tested after September 11. However, in this country, they will survive, so let us look for some new ways to use today's word. Have you ever felt like saying, "I'm as latitudinarian as the next mom but I draw the line at permitting tattoos on the bodies of people who came from my body without them."
Etymology: In England of the mid-1600s, the term was used abusively by High Church Anglicans to deprecate members who tolerated diverse religious views and wished reason to inform theological interpretations. Such offenders were called men of latitude. From Latin latitudo "width, geographical latitude" from latus "wide."
[læ-tê-tyu-dê-'ne-ri-yên or læ-dê-]
Definition: Tolerating diversity of belief and behavior, particularly with reference to religion; favoring latitude in thought or conduct.
Usage: For decades we have been calling our intolerant neighbors "bigots." Did you ever wonder what the antonym of "bigot" is? Today's adjective may be used as a noun, as is, to fill this lacuna in many of our vocabularies. The other noun is "latitudinarianism."
Suggested Usage: Vociferous racial latitudinarians were effective in changing opinions of the Silent Majority in the 60s but the convictions of some latitudinarians were sorely tested after September 11. However, in this country, they will survive, so let us look for some new ways to use today's word. Have you ever felt like saying, "I'm as latitudinarian as the next mom but I draw the line at permitting tattoos on the bodies of people who came from my body without them."
Etymology: In England of the mid-1600s, the term was used abusively by High Church Anglicans to deprecate members who tolerated diverse religious views and wished reason to inform theological interpretations. Such offenders were called men of latitude. From Latin latitudo "width, geographical latitude" from latus "wide."
—Dr. Language, yourDictionary.com
Compiling Donations for Orphanage/Transition House
When I go to ETH, I plan to take a suitcase (or two) of items to donate to the orphanage and transition house for the children there. I asked our agency what they need, and here is the list I was sent:
□ Preschool toys, Bath toys (no toy guns, please)
□ Craft supplies; crayons, pencil crayons, colouring books, pencil sharpeners erasers, craft scissors, pencils, construction paper (no glitter or glue please)
□ Outdoor toys; skipping ropes, badminton set, soccer balls, Tricycles (bring unassembled and reassemble at Transition Home); (no sidewalk chalk please)
□ Flash cards of numbers or the alphabet, puzzles, note books, letter tracing books, etc.
□ Medical Supplies; Band-Aids, Ozonol, Polysporin, children’s and infant Tylenol, baby oil, cold syrups, Vaseline, Penaten cream
□ Personal Hygiene items; children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste, hair elastics, clips and barrettes
□ Twin size sheets, crib sheets, blankets, towels, face cloths
□ Disposable diapers and children’s underwear
□ Shoes for Toddlers (for kids approx. 2 to 4 years old)
Very gently worn items in excellent condition are accepted - but newer things will last longer!
Anyone in our circle of family/friends is welcome to send things to me for the collection ... I have two+ friends that plan to accompany me on the trip, so we will have lots of "pack mules", plus this will leave us with empty suitcases to bring home all our ETH treasures!
□ Preschool toys, Bath toys (no toy guns, please)
□ Craft supplies; crayons, pencil crayons, colouring books, pencil sharpeners erasers, craft scissors, pencils, construction paper (no glitter or glue please)
□ Outdoor toys; skipping ropes, badminton set, soccer balls, Tricycles (bring unassembled and reassemble at Transition Home); (no sidewalk chalk please)
□ Flash cards of numbers or the alphabet, puzzles, note books, letter tracing books, etc.
□ Medical Supplies; Band-Aids, Ozonol, Polysporin, children’s and infant Tylenol, baby oil, cold syrups, Vaseline, Penaten cream
□ Personal Hygiene items; children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste, hair elastics, clips and barrettes
□ Twin size sheets, crib sheets, blankets, towels, face cloths
□ Disposable diapers and children’s underwear
□ Shoes for Toddlers (for kids approx. 2 to 4 years old)
Very gently worn items in excellent condition are accepted - but newer things will last longer!
Anyone in our circle of family/friends is welcome to send things to me for the collection ... I have two+ friends that plan to accompany me on the trip, so we will have lots of "pack mules", plus this will leave us with empty suitcases to bring home all our ETH treasures!
Blog Now Accepts Comments
Sorry - just realized the blog wasn't accepting comments - have changed the settings. Comment away!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
If the world were a village of 100 people ...
If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:
60 Asians
12 Europeans
5 US Americans and Canadians
8 Latin Americans
14 Africans
49 would be female
51 would be male
82 would be non-white
18 white
89 heterosexual
11 homosexual
33 would be Christian
67 would be non-Christian
5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens
80 would live in substandard housing
24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76% that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)
67 would be unable to read
1 (only one) would have a college education.
50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
33 would be without access to a safe water supply
1 would have HIV
1 near death
2 would be near birth
7 people would have access to the Internet
If to take a look at the world from this condensed perspective,t he need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes evident.
Think of it!
If you woke up this morning with more health than sickness,you are luckier than the million that will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced a war, a loneliness of an imprisonment,
an agony of tortures or a famine You are happier, than 500 million persons in this world.
If you are able to go to church, mosque or synagogue without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death,you are happier, than 3 billion persons in this world.
If there is a meal in your refrigerator, if you are dressed and have got shoes, if you have a bed and a roof above your head, you are better off, than 75% of people in this world.
If your parents are still alive and still married,then you are a rarity.
If you have a bank account, money in your purse and there is some trifle in your coin box, you belong to 8% of well-provided people in this world.
We're Expecting!
Just got an email from our adoption agency that they went ahead and submitted our file to Ottawa for authentication a couple of weeks ago, even tho we were still missing a few documents ... so today our file went to ETHIOPIA!
We are now officially expecting!
Here is an excerpt from the agency about the wait times from this point forward:
We’ve been saying approximately 9-12 weeks for a referral of a female infant, but some families have been waiting upwards of 16 weeks for a female infant right now. We’re hoping this will change in the weeks ahead, but it’s difficult to say right now. From that point, we’re estimating about 3 months for your court decision to go through, and then the High Commission has said it could take up to 6 months to issue the permanent residence visa.
So - looks like it'll be summer, rather than spring, for our trip .... but maybe things will speed up.
Stay tuned!
We are now officially expecting!
Here is an excerpt from the agency about the wait times from this point forward:
We’ve been saying approximately 9-12 weeks for a referral of a female infant, but some families have been waiting upwards of 16 weeks for a female infant right now. We’re hoping this will change in the weeks ahead, but it’s difficult to say right now. From that point, we’re estimating about 3 months for your court decision to go through, and then the High Commission has said it could take up to 6 months to issue the permanent residence visa.
So - looks like it'll be summer, rather than spring, for our trip .... but maybe things will speed up.
Stay tuned!
Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
Spreading freshly cut grass on the floor sets the scene for the coffee ceremony. Traditionally, for any special occasion, scented grass will be strewn directly on the floors of houses. A recent development is to scatter flowers over the grass to make it attractive.
People take their seats around the carpet of grass and the necessary utensils for the ceremony. The lady making the coffee will sit in the centre on a stool and be dressed in a white Ethiopian dress with coloured, woven, decorative borders.
The main items needed for the ceremony include: - a black clay coffee pot, locally known as jebena which is round at the bottom with a straw lid, placed on a circular band of straw. Small, often decorated china cups, known as sini are lined up together with a sugar jug on a special wooden curved tray with four short legs, like a miniature table. There is a narrow-waisted clay brazier for burning charcoal on which the coffee is roasted and brewed and a flat round iron pan and a spoon with a long handle for roasting the coffee beans. A small clay incense-burner and some roasted grain lie in a colourful straw basket. All together there are about forty-one items for the ceremony.
The lady who is conducting the ceremony gently washes a handful of coffee beans on the heated pan. Roasted popcorn, barley or bread is passed round, amid general conversation while the coffee beans are stirred and shaken and the husks are blown away. When the coffee beans have turned black and shining and the aromatic oil is coaxed out of them, the lady brings the pan around to every body shaking the beans so that the coffee smoke rises from the pan and gives off the strong coffee-flavoured aroma. Everybody stretches out their arms to pull the aroma closer to their noses.
The lady then brings one or two pieces of burning charcoal to the incense burner and cream-coloured incense crystals are thrown on to the burning charcoal. A few seconds later the air is filled with the smoke and aroma of the incense, mingled with the coffee smell. The Jebena, will be filled with water and placed on the brazier for boiling before the ground coffee is poured into it. At this time the lady will grind the coffee with a wooden pestle and a mortar.
Ground coffee is then added to the water in the pot little by little. With a graceful movement the lady then lifts the jebena and holding it high pours into the little cups and fills them up to the brim. Now the first round of coffee known as awol, a word of Arabic origin, meaning ‘first’ is ready to be drunk. The cups are then served, starting with the elderly first. Children are not served coffee but they will be given a handful of roasted popcorn, barley or a piece of bread, which is prepared for the ceremony. Traditionally in many parts of the country, coffee would have been served slightly salted and in some parts mixed with fresh butter, but currently it is served with sugar.
After the first round the jebena is refilled with water and there is more talking and consumption of popcorn or bread. The second round is now ready. It is weaker than the first as no further coffee has been added. This new round is called tona, from the Arabic thani, meaning ‘second’. When there are many guests and not enough cups to go round, or when it becomes difficult to remember to whom each cup belongs, a bowl of water will be brought in for rinsing the cups between rounds.
The third and final brew is made by again adding water to the original coffee, and brining it to the boil. The last brew is called baraka, which means ‘blessing’ in several languages including Arabic and Geez, the Ethiopian ecclesiastical language. At the end of the third round the elderly bless the house and everybody departs.
The entire ceremony takes about two hours, it is a social and interactive time and it is a warm welcome into people's home and the Ethiopian culture.
People take their seats around the carpet of grass and the necessary utensils for the ceremony. The lady making the coffee will sit in the centre on a stool and be dressed in a white Ethiopian dress with coloured, woven, decorative borders.
The main items needed for the ceremony include: - a black clay coffee pot, locally known as jebena which is round at the bottom with a straw lid, placed on a circular band of straw. Small, often decorated china cups, known as sini are lined up together with a sugar jug on a special wooden curved tray with four short legs, like a miniature table. There is a narrow-waisted clay brazier for burning charcoal on which the coffee is roasted and brewed and a flat round iron pan and a spoon with a long handle for roasting the coffee beans. A small clay incense-burner and some roasted grain lie in a colourful straw basket. All together there are about forty-one items for the ceremony.
The lady who is conducting the ceremony gently washes a handful of coffee beans on the heated pan. Roasted popcorn, barley or bread is passed round, amid general conversation while the coffee beans are stirred and shaken and the husks are blown away. When the coffee beans have turned black and shining and the aromatic oil is coaxed out of them, the lady brings the pan around to every body shaking the beans so that the coffee smoke rises from the pan and gives off the strong coffee-flavoured aroma. Everybody stretches out their arms to pull the aroma closer to their noses.
The lady then brings one or two pieces of burning charcoal to the incense burner and cream-coloured incense crystals are thrown on to the burning charcoal. A few seconds later the air is filled with the smoke and aroma of the incense, mingled with the coffee smell. The Jebena, will be filled with water and placed on the brazier for boiling before the ground coffee is poured into it. At this time the lady will grind the coffee with a wooden pestle and a mortar.
Ground coffee is then added to the water in the pot little by little. With a graceful movement the lady then lifts the jebena and holding it high pours into the little cups and fills them up to the brim. Now the first round of coffee known as awol, a word of Arabic origin, meaning ‘first’ is ready to be drunk. The cups are then served, starting with the elderly first. Children are not served coffee but they will be given a handful of roasted popcorn, barley or a piece of bread, which is prepared for the ceremony. Traditionally in many parts of the country, coffee would have been served slightly salted and in some parts mixed with fresh butter, but currently it is served with sugar.
After the first round the jebena is refilled with water and there is more talking and consumption of popcorn or bread. The second round is now ready. It is weaker than the first as no further coffee has been added. This new round is called tona, from the Arabic thani, meaning ‘second’. When there are many guests and not enough cups to go round, or when it becomes difficult to remember to whom each cup belongs, a bowl of water will be brought in for rinsing the cups between rounds.
The third and final brew is made by again adding water to the original coffee, and brining it to the boil. The last brew is called baraka, which means ‘blessing’ in several languages including Arabic and Geez, the Ethiopian ecclesiastical language. At the end of the third round the elderly bless the house and everybody departs.
The entire ceremony takes about two hours, it is a social and interactive time and it is a warm welcome into people's home and the Ethiopian culture.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
File = Complete!
At least, *I* think it is. I sent a package to our adoption agency on Tues, containing the last few documents and another (cough!) bank draft. Once they confirm all is complete, the file will go to Ottawa for "authentication" (not sure exactly by whom .... but it takes a couple of weeks), and then it goes off to ETH! So we are getting closer!
My fantasy of a proposal by Christmas is rapidly fading (barring some miracle), as wait times for infant girls are higher than for boys/older kids/sibling groups. Still, we should travel before summer (I hope!).
My fantasy of a proposal by Christmas is rapidly fading (barring some miracle), as wait times for infant girls are higher than for boys/older kids/sibling groups. Still, we should travel before summer (I hope!).
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