Songkran

Here is a little Thai knowledge for you. According to what I've found on the internet Songkran is the Thai new year celebration. It begins each year on April 13 and goes for 3 days. This is also know as the Water Festival since there is tradition of washing away bad luck. I've heard the in the more recent generations this tradition has becoem a giant water fight in the streets. :) Here is a brief description I found on the holiday.

"Songkran is a Thai traditional New Year which starts on April 13 every year and lasts for 3 days. Songkran festival on April 13 is Maha Songkran Day or the day to mark the end of the old year, April 14 is Wan Nao which is the day after and April 15 is Wan Thaloeng Sok which the New Year begins. At this time, people from the rural areas who are working in the city usually return home to celebrate the festival. Thus, when the time come, Bangkok temporarily turns into a deserted city.
Songkran is a Thai word which means "move" or "change place" as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac. It is also known as the "Water Festival" as people believe that water will wash away bad luck.
The Songkran tradition is recognized as a valuable custom for the Thai community, society and religions. The value for family is to provide the opportunity for family members to gather in order to express their respects to the elders by pouring scented water onto the hands of their parents and grandparents and to present them gifts including making merits to dedicate the result to their ancestors. The elders in return wish the youngsters good luck and prosperity."

Over the weekend we attended a picnic, in honor of Songkran, with families from the Chicagoland area that had adopted from Thailand. Many of the families had children from multiple countries but it was wonderful. Ian was the only little white kid there and it didn't even phase him. He didn't even notice. It was nice meeting other families - there were a lot of kids. Some families had 4 and 5!!!!! It was amazing.

I've been afraid of Ian transitioning into brotherhood so we've been talking about it more - now I feel I might have jumped the gun. He woke up from his nap today and asked if it was time for his brother to come home! :( I don't want to discourage the conversations but now I feel I've set him up for the long wait when he could have just been ignorant. Not sure which is better for a 3 year old. Not sure which is better for a 30 year old.

April

Well, April is here (practically half over actually) so another month drifting by. I wish I could say flying by, but even with all the busy-ness I have surrounded myself with time is still just drifting. We did hear some exciting news from our agency. 3 families in the waiting children program (requested specific older children to adopt) have been invited to travel by the middle of May. That's huge progress in timing and has a lot to do with the new director's communication with Thailand. Hopefully by our next update she'll have some news for the TRC families in terms of wait times and anticipated referrals.

We are meeting up with local families who have adopted from Thailand on Saturday. It's going to be a great experience for Ian and for us. Plus good networking and potential friend-making oppritunities.

My sister, Donna was here for a visit with her baby, Faren, and husband, David. It was great but I could really see the effect of having another baby in the house on Ian. He was just not himself after nearly a week of sharing his toys, Bubbie, and mommy with others. Today we had a little talk about when his brother comes home and how that's forever. I think he understood (a little) of what we were trying to say. He asked questions back, which was a good sign, about where his brother was now and why he was there. He answered the first part himself when prompted - remembering Thailand to be the correct answer. He still doesn't really understand what that means. I'm hoping to get him a large map for his wall - which would be cool anyway - to help him visualize as he gets older. He's already 3 - and will probably be 4 by the time we travel. The timeline is still wearing a little thin when I focus on it for too long - but I try to just live life and wait - and think happy thoughts. Anyway - now I know that every so often we'll have to talk about sharing his parents and grandparents with his brother (and his toys) and what that means. He's smart and will catch on - although I'm not dumb and know it's hard enough on the kid when your pregnant much less this abstract concept of adoption.

A work in progress - we'll just keep learning new things as well go, and realizing more things we need to prepare ourselves and Ian for.