Eamon's Story

Sometimes in our house we do little role-playing games with Vika and Eamon's stuffed animals. We use these games to discuss how issues in the house might be resolved better next time, or to talk about different situations which may have occurred in the family (both good and bad). The other day, Jeff used Eamon's Mishka (his teddy bear) to tell a story about being adopted. This inspired Eamon to use his brown bear (who was also adopted) to tell the story of his life:

I was in a cave. I walked and there was magic that made me little, like a mouse. Then I saw a picture of who I was supposed to be. That made me get bigger. Then the sister saw me and took me out of the orphanage really quick! Then we went to an airplane and got back home.

Perhaps we are reading too much into it, but this story was very interesting to me and Jeff. When we first visited Eamon at the orphanage, he was very small for his age. He could not grow properly because he was not getting the kind of love and nourishment that he needed. Maybe this is the "magic" that made Eamon little, "like a mouse?"

When we were getting ready to leave after that first trip, we let the kids each choose a picture of us to keep until we got back. Eamon picked a photo right away and stared at it for a long time. He would not let go of this picture, and when we went to pick him up during trip 2, the photo was rumpled and smudged from frequent handling. Maybe this is the picture of who he was "supposed to be?"

The rest of his story is pretty true to life. We picked up Vika from her orphanage first, and when we went to get Eamon, she walked right into his grupa and took him by the hand. She led him out of there pretty fast, and into the room where we would change him into his new clothes, getting him ready for his new life. And of course, we had to take a couple of airplane trips before we were finally home, safe and sound.

It was interesting to hear Eamon re-tell the story. He was so young that he has few memories of his time in Russia, and those he does have are not happy. The fact that he felt himself getting bigger after he saw the picture of the family was so touching. The people in the orphanage said that he changed after our first visit, and we certainly saw a difference when we went back for Trip 2. He was happy and actually smiled! He was so much more vibrant and alive, it was truly amazing to see. He is a sensitive boy who sees and feels things on a much deeper level than we sometimes expect.

This story-telling reminded me of a comment Starfish made on my Memorial Day post, about Eamon being sensitive and Vika being a "cut to the chase" kind of girl. That is so true! After Eamon told his story, Vika took a turn with her teddy bear. Here's her story:

When I was a baby, I came out of my mama's tummy. And that's it!

Yep. Definitely a cut-to-the-chase kind of girl...