Two conversations

Ben takes swimming lessons. He loves them and the pool is indoors so he can get lots of activity and exercise no matter the weather or the pollen count.

So, one of the other Moms in the class (we'll call her K), who knows that Ben was born in Russia, asked me about the news story in the post below. Well, of course, I have several opinions about what should have happened instead of what actually transpired. We stood next to the big swimming pool and spoke for a few minutes about the sad events. Ben and his class were not nearby. They were actually in a different pool at the other end of the room.

So, a few adults walk by us and get ready to swim laps in the big pool. It becomes apparent to me that one man was listening to my opinions about the state of Russian/US relations regarding intercountry adoptions. When it was time to get Ben from class, I moved to pass this group of adults. The man looked at me and said "Russia just sends us the kids from drug abusers and drunks. That's why the kids all have such problems." Really, I thought.

I did not mention during the course of my convo with K about me being an Adoptive Mom or that Ben was born in Russia. So, there was no way he would know these facts. I looked at him, I am sure, with a look on my face that was somewhere between "you are dumb/uninformed/annoying" and "have you met my drug-free, non FAS son?". I looked at this man and said, "the statistics just don't bear that out. Sixty thousand kids in the US adopted from Russia are not all suffering the after-effects of drug abuse and fetal alcohol syndrome." Not my best comeback, but hello, what a sweeping generalization.

Today, I stopped by the preschool office. While I was there, the director said that I would be calling her in a few years to tell her she was right. I said, about what? She said that in the 2nd grade, Ben would be pulled from class and tested for the gifted and talented program. She said he would also be admitted into the program. I was surprised. I have not given it much thought. I am busy working on Ben writing his "n"s correctly when he writes his name. I don't care if he is in the g/t program. I just want him to be successful and happy in his school experience.

So, here we have an educator who sees all kinds of potential and intelligence in my son and a complete stranger who sees only what he wants to see. I think I'll introduce him to Ben next week at swimming.