Post Placement - 2 and a half years
Now that Lucas has been a member of our family for two and a half years, we receive a lot of inquiries regarding his adjustment and growth.
In many ways, he is doing great. His height and weight are well within the normal range for a boy his age, he is active in baseball and soccer, and he is improving academically by leaps and bounds. His English is nearly fluent for a child of his age. He states that he is truly happy here and has no regrets regarding his move from Haiti to America.
Of course, I would love to take all the credit for how well Lucas is doing, but a large portion must be given to his maternal grandfather, who raised Lucas until his death. It is obvious that Lucas was blessed with a loving relationship with his grandpa thereby providing him the vital attachments and relationship skills necessary for attachment once he arrived here.
Another large portion must be given to Lucas himself. Once the fog of depression began to fade and the grief began to subside, Lucas’ personality began to shine through. My, oh, my! Such a zest for life and a zany sense of humor in that precious little boy! He gives 200% in his school work, sports, and friendships. He is usually eager to help around the house, especially cooking dinner and feeding our dog. When Lucas smiles, his eyes sparkle, and when he laughs, all is right in the world.
That isn’t to say all is well and we are living a life of ease. It just means that Lucas has a found a happy place and does not live every moment of every day in the depths of despair. Reminders can cause him stress and anxiety, which causes less than pleasant behavior. Sometimes lasting for days or weeks. We make mistakes in how we handle said behavior. But! We have a large amount of successes, too.
That, in my opinion, makes up the remaining portion for why Lucas is mostly doing well. It may not last, but I’ll take it.
Copyright © 2008 Becky Wilson. All Rights Reserved.
Photo credits: Me! Copyright © 2007-2008 Becky Wilson.
T-shirt credit: Mandy’s Moon
adoption, parenting after adoption, adoptive parenting, adoptee, attachment, older child adoption, inter-country adoption, international adoption, transracial adoption, trans-racial adoption, transcultural adoption, trans-cultural adoption, grief and loss in adoption, attachment in adoption, post placement after adoption
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