Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I found different lists like this on other sites and used some to compose my own list.

You Know You’ve Adopted from China When:
1. Your bathroom is stocked with shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and slippers from the White Swan Hotel (and, in our case, Hong Kong Disneyland)
2. You want to laugh when you hear someone whine about traveling from the east coast to the west coast. Hello - try 20 hours with a child who just lost his only child designation and a baby who's only known you for 2 weeks and having to run to make your last connection after taking forever to get through customs at O'Hare.
3. You start conversations with “Rumor Queen says…” or “Someone on one of my Yahoo groups said….”
4. The number of China-related Yahoo groups to which you belong spans 2 pages (while I don't get individual emails from all of them - just some- I can't bear to unsubscribe).
5. You know what DTC, LID, LOA, TA, and CCAA mean.
6. You’re stalked by waiting parents while shopping.
7. You have garnered and memorized from various Yahoo groups and fellow Rumor Queen subjects a list of come-backs to intrusive personal questions asked by strangers.
8. Your child squeaks when walking (got to LOVE those squeaky shoes!)
9. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.
10. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
11. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who are waiting or have experienced the blessing of adoption.
12. It drives you crazy when people ask about your child’s “real” parents.
13. You know what the word “dossier” means and you can pronounce it.
14. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you have adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have him or her in your life.
15. You own at least five of the following, all purchased on Shamian Island: a set of chopsticks, a granite etching, a calligraphy wall hanging, a chop, a tea set, a Chairman Mao watch, jade, pearls, a calligraphy set with brushes and ink, squeaky shoes, silk dresses in multiple sizes, hand-painted combs or hair clips, paper-cuts, paper or bamboo fans, porcelain and Chinese stamps
16. You have a quilt in your home made of completely mismatched squares and a fat scrapbook containing fabric swatches and sweet messages from total strangers
17. You stop and pay attention whenever you hear China mentioned on the television or in a public place ... even if they're just talking about the weather there
18. You're solo in the mall/ grocery store/ park and notice a cutie from China, so you begin doing the "is she from China dance," following the family around, looking for an opening, but not wanting to intrude
19. You have felt and witnessed the heart-wrenching sobs of Forever Family Day grief from a very small child
20. You've got your browser bookmarked with FCC, ChinaSprout, Tapestry Books, the CCAA, one or more Yahoo! internet groups related to China adoption and the Rumor Queen
21. You have a White Swan Hotel Barbie. (Jess’s sits on her bureau next to her Chinese New Year Barbie).
22. The suitcases you took to China still have duct tape on them.
23. Your children are already planning what they want to do when you visit China again
24. When packing for a trip, you never stress about supplies ... after all, you can always run to the store and at least this time you know you'll be able to read the labels (in Jinan, we bought a carton with a cow on it thinking it was milk; thankfully our daughter liked what turned out to be drinkable yogurt)

No comments: