Twenty-three years ago today, a little bundle with a shaved head was put into my arms.
I was half-way around the world, in a hotel in Hufei, China and there were five other bundles being handed off to five other sets of arms at the same time. We spent 8 days in Hufei while all the last bits of paperwork were filled out, signed, stamped and copied (the copier only took one page at a time and after 45 minutes had to sit for a bit to cool down). Then we headed off to Guangzhou where we had 2 more days of paperwork, but this time U.S. paperwork.
Then the group broke up; Baby and I flew to Hong Kong for an extra day, taking a long taxi drive to the Stanley Market to get a few trinkets, including a Chinese chop with her name carved into it. Then we said goodbye to China and took the long flights to get back to Minnesota.
Most of you know that we celebrate this day every year (usually by going to The Melting Pot). We used to call it “Gotcha Day” since that was when we “got” each other, but when Child was about 10 she announced that she preferred “Family Day”. She said that “gotcha” made her feel like a package being picked up at the post office. So now we have Family Day. Some years we do cards, although never gifts. I already have the best gift.
Do you have a family tradition that needs re-naming?
Trail Baboon 
Ya think celebrating dead grandpa Mickey needs renaming?
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Happy 23rd
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Somebody put up the song Happy Adoption Day played on LGMS
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Thanks Clyde, for the suggestion.
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I’m sure Husband would prefer if we had a new name for celebrations on his birthday. He doesn’t like the reminder of the passage of time. I keep telling him that having another birthday is far better than the alternative.
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I still wonder. 48 years ago we were approved for adoption through LSS. We were waiting. They told us 5-9 months. This was back before adoption took forever. Then Sandy, against all of medical wisdom, became pregnant. Everything said she could not. But she did. We called LSS to tell them, as we were supposed to. Our social worker said we were eleven people away from adoption, which meant we would have had two children about the same age. We passed, in part to allow another family a child. After our son was born, we went back on the list with a delay. A year later we made ourselves active. Now waits were longer. Again somehow Sandy became pregnant. Again we called. Again we would have received a child a few months after our daughter was born. We thought about it and took our name permanently off the list, again to give another family the child. In part because Sandy was so weak after a harrowing issue a week after giving birth,
But what if we had accepted one of those children? We sometimes joke about our missing children. But then after all we were “parents” to two college age young men.
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In my childhood my birthday was called Christmas Tree Day because that day we went out in our woods and found a tree. That was supposed to be a big day for me. We know a couple who celebrate each other’s Birthday Month. For forty years I have been trying to get my birthday renamed as Let’s Just Forget It Day. I have almost won the battle.
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I’ve always enjoyed “Happy Un-birthday” for when I want to celebrate someone and it’s not (anywhere near) the exact date. Thinking…
VS, what’s a Chinese chop? (you may have answered this before)
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It’s a personal seal carved into a square stone, usually square. Almost always a name but sometimes a Chinese symbol and used traditionally with red ink.
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I’ve heard ‘un-Birthday’ was the 6 month mark. There was a theater lady that used to celebrate Un-Birthdays for all her theater kids.
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I have a friend who’s family has always celebrated half-birthdays. I occasionally do a Facebook post to all my friends who do not have a birthday that day and wish them all a very merry un-birthday. I think it comes from a Winnie the Pooh movie. Maybe. Anyway, it appeals to me.
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Oops, no. Alice in Wonderland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdsZT7WKjW8
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I ordered a printer from Amazon because mine crashed. It was on my wish list. I ordered it from there. It arrived today, but this morning I realized they were sending me the wrong thing. We disagree about whose error it was. I was out and did not catch the delivery man. So now the instructions are to download and print a return label. Printing is not a thing I can do. Funny how often technology ties up in conundrums.
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Like chasing your tail.
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This is just like when the internet goes down; you call the company and the recorded message says “for faster service, log on to the website….” Grrrrr.
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We sometimes call Mothers or Fathers Day, Valentines, etc. “Hallmark Day”, as the card companies seem to be the ones who pushed popularization of these “holidays”.
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Yes, and it’s an ever-expanding list. They’re now trying to make Grandparents’ Day a thing.
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My aunts and uncles and cousins would celebrate birthdays by the month. There were lots of us born in February and July, so we would get together one day in the month for a celebration.
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Husbands family would do that too, maybe 8 times a year. It was fun at first, when the kids were all there.
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I know I’m a day late with this. My family does this too; we have lots of May and July birthdays and anniversaries so we have a picnic and celebrate everything.
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That is so perfect! 💜
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