Ode to Delta Airlines

Carole TowrissInternational Adoption Leave a Comment

Flying home from the conference reminded me of bringing home MC from Kazakhstan. We were in Kaz for three weeks when we adopted her. It had been a long trip, and at one point I even panicked and thought we might end up going home without her. When we finally got to the airport, I was unbelievably relieved. John has …

Just Who Do You Belong To?

Carole TowrissInternational Adoption, Living in Washington, D.C., Parenting Leave a Comment

Living in a multicultural family leads to some funny moments. While John and I were both gone this weekend—a rare occurrence—Emma had to drive down and play chauffeur. Early Saturday morning, she took MC an hour away to a softball doubleheader. A few hours later, she and her boyfriend, who is first-generation Vietnamese, dropped JT off at a TKD demo, went back …

The High Cost of Unforgiveness

Carole TowrissInternational Adoption, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

We visited the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History a few months ago. It happened to be the 60th anniversary of America’s decision to place Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II. There was a large board standing near the entrance to the exhibit with 5×7 posit-it notes and Sharpies nearby, inviting guests to share their thoughts on the decision. …

Naked Babies and Toothbrushes

Carole TowrissInternational Adoption, Parenting Leave a Comment

I’m sitting here sobbing, having a hard time typing this. A friend of mine who is working as a missionary in Kazakhstan just sent pictures from a graduation ceremony from one of the orphanages she’s connected with. 26 kids she’s known since first grade graduated today from ninth grade. They’ll be sent to boarding schools all over the country, leave …

What Good is Citizenship?

Carole TowrissInternational Adoption, Parenting 3 Comments

On Sunday, our church had a special moment to celebrate one member becoming a US citizen. He’s been in the country for many years as a permanent resident, but a few years ago he lost his livelihood when all non-citizens working for certain government agencies lost their jobs. He had to wade through all the background checks, fingerprinting, and paperwork …

Do You Have the Right Face?

Carole TowrissInternational Adoption, Living in Washington, D.C., Parenting Leave a Comment

A couple weeks ago we picked up a little girl, a second grader, to take to a kids’ program at our church. I had all four of mine with me, and we went to Wendy’s to eat. They laughed and chatted about all kinds of things. As we gathered up our trash, she asked my oldest, “Why are you different?” …