Archive for October, 2016

Adam Crapser update and COC

Thursday, October 27th, 2016

Update on the case of Adam Crapser, the 40-year-old man adopted from South Korea to the US at age three and facing deportation. The attorney representing Crapser, Lori Walls, told NBC Nightly News that this week an immigration judge ruled against Crapser, and his deportation is imminent. Said Walls: “He was eligible for a discretionary form of relief called ‘cancellation of removal,’ and the immigration judge decided he did not deserve this relief…He will be deported as soon as Immigration and Customs Enforcement makes the necessary arrangements.”

As you recall, Adam Crapser was convicted of a felony, and because he does not possess a Certificate of Citizenship–his adoptive parents never applied for one–Crapser is not legally a US citizen.

I’ve written in the past about the absolute importance of securing a Certificate of Citizenship, in Certificate of Citizenship, Now More Than Ever; Certificate of Citizenship; Certificate of Citizenship, Again; and A Mother’s Rights.  Please do not delay. ~

ShareThis

Lion, film about Saroo Brierley

Thursday, October 20th, 2016

At the movies last week, the kids and I saw the trailer for “Lion,” due out November 25. The film is based on the memoir A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley, published in the US by Putnam in 2014. You might remember the story: at five years old, Saroo was separated from his brother in a train station in India. The two boys often hopped trains to other towns in search of food. After living on the streets of Calcutta for three months, Saroo was placed in an orphanage and ultimately adopted by a family in Tasmania, Australia.

Twenty-five years later, through the wonders of Google Earth, Saroo located his hometown and the train station where his saga began, and, through determination and persistence, found and reunited with his birth mother. (His brother was killed by a train the day he and Saroo were separated.)

I’ve ordered Saroo’s memoir and can’t wait to read it. And you know where my family will be November 25.

ShareThis

Baker

Tuesday, October 18th, 2016

At 10 PM Saturday, Mateo decided to make strawberry shortcake. Talking him out of it was futile. Bedtime is a battle I fight only Sunday through Thursday.

The shortcake was more biscuit than sponge, which we discovered we prefer, and made from scratch. Mateo whipped the cream, too, using a hand whisk. We bought the strawberries at 10:15 at the grocery store down the hill, when Mateo realized we were missing the recipe’s key ingredient.

Is there anything on earth more interesting than the mind of an 11-year-old boy? Strawberry shortcake, why? Apropos of what?

These are questions I don’t ask.

ShareThis

Queen of Katwe

Thursday, October 13th, 2016

Yesterday, school let out at 12:30, so the kids and I saw a matinee of Queen of Katwe, about a young girl from Uganda who is revealed to be a chess prodigy. The film was inspiring, uplifting, and beautiful. We loved it.

ShareThis

Book group

Sunday, October 9th, 2016

Our Guatemalan adoption group book group met yesterday to discuss Kelly Kerney’s novel, Hard Red Spring. The consensus: tough but worthwhile. Several people who hadn’t yet finished–it’s long!–were inspired to read to the end. Others were inspired to go back and read again, because the first time around, information may have been missed. (I count myself in that camp.)

The plot is dense with history and complicated, and that’s a good thing. We learned more about Guatemala than we knew previously, and the book expanded our understanding of the role of the US in Guatemala politics. The book also caused us to examine adoption through the lens of the country’s past, always sobering.

Once again, I’m grateful to live in an area with other adoptive parents who share my interest in all things adoption and Guatemala, and who are avid readers, too. I love my book group!

ShareThis