Welcome!

This blog is about my experience of becoming a mom to a spirited, bright, beautiful, athletic, funny, resourceful,  energetic and strong willed daughter from China, who joined our family at the age of 9-3/4.

All our families are unique.  What works for me may not work for anyone else.  I do not expect it to.  But maybe some things that I've tried will help spark some new ideas for you that will work for your family.  You are the expert there.

From my work as a therapist, I find that some themes are common in older child adoption (i.e. emotional and physical reactivity, lying, hoarding, dissociating, overeating, stealing.)  For the most part, these behaviors are temporary and can be changed over time, with love, focus and patience.  It saddens me when people feel they are the only ones who are dealing with these issues, or interpret behaviors in ways that hurt themselves and their children.

I am all for getting competent professional help and urge you to do so if you think it might help in any way.  This is not meant to be a substitute for that.  It is, instead, my attempt to provide a place where you can look to see that, a) things will probably improve over time, b) you are not alone and c) there are some things you may want to try to either help you understand what's going on or to make things a bit better.  For a few basic suggestions, you can look here.