Anna Mae Custody

I found out today that Anna Mae Baker/He was returned to her biological parents in July- after 8 years of living with another family in Tennesse. I wrote this when the Tennessee supreme court treated Anna Mae like a piece of furniture rather than a child in their decision in January.

Alot of wrong was done on both sides... if you aren't familiar with the case- simply google Anna Mae Baker or Anna Mae He.

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It doesn’t matter now who was right and who was wrong in this situation.
What matters is an 8 year old girl who is aboout to be taken from the only family and only country she has ever known.

Anna Mae isn’t Chinese. She is Chinese-American. She doesn’t speak Chinese, she doesn’t “think” Chinese, or “act” Chinese. She is American in this.

To take her from her family and give her to complete strangers- which the Hes are to her is unfathomable.

I know that bloodline is important in Chinese culture. To Anna Mae- bloodline is what is ripping her from her parents and siblings. Because folks- the Bakers are HER family… in HER mind- that is her family and no judge, no bloodline can change that.

Perhaps legally Anna Mae belongs with the Hes.. emotionally, she is with her family. To send her back to them- only to then have her go to China- I can’t imagine her fear. She is a U.S. citizen- she should not have to go to a country she doesn’t want to go to- perhaps an immigration attorney will take up the fight to keep her here based on emotional damage… who knows?

This is a mess- but the deed is done and Anna Mae needs to know that there are 2 families who love her. Perhaps if the judge had offered to cut Anna Mae in two- we would have seen the “real” parent step forward.

The Bakers and Hes should probably share custody of this child- it is what is in the best interest of her.. .she is not a coffee table. She is a child and she has a family and I can’t imagine how she will cope if taken from her family.

Sometimes legal right isn’t moral right.

And this case just amplifies one reason I chose international adoption… because I KNEW that 1 year, 4 years, 7 years down the road- I would NEVER have to deal with a bio-parent coming back and saying- I want my child. I made a mistake, I didn’t understand what I was signing.

It’s awful what we do to children in this country in regards to adoption and custody.

Thursday Thirteen

So, Thursday 13. I guess this is my first venture into that arena. I'm still not sure how to link to the site where this originated, but hopefully I'll learn in time.

Since we're slowly moving into fall where I live, I decided to write about my 13 favorite things about Autumn. They are, in no particular order.

1. The sound of leaves beneath your feet.
2. The smell of burning leaves.
3. The leaves changing colours.
4. Sweaters.
5. Sweatshirts.
6. Halloween.
7. The local hometown Halloween parade.
8. Visiting the pumpkin farm with my Pipsqueak.
9. Decorating pumpkins.
10. "Fall food"- such as chilis, soups, beef or chicken w/noodles and mashed potatoes, etc.
11. The new T.V. season.
12. Longer bike rides.
13. Sunny fall days.

Much Ado about Nothing

What to say? What to say? What to say? Therein lies my dillema as of late.

I like the idea of a blog, I really do. It's just that things seem to go by so quickly that I want to blog about, I mean to blog about- but then it never happens.

I'm not sure if it's time mangement issues or just a general lack of blogging/alone time and having the worst cold ever standing in my way.

Anyway- I figure if I'm really going to blog, then I need to do so. Blog, I mean. Write. Write about something, anything, nothing.

The results of course, are this entry.

Not bad, not good, but a start I think.

Yes, a start. And that's good enough for now.

The Wedding

The Pipsqueak and I attended a wedding a friend's wedding last night. It's very strange to me, that this little girl, whom I met at 4 years old is now a lovely, married woman starting a new life in a different state.

Must be just as strange for her parents.

Pipsqueak loved the reception and danced with anyone who would give her the chance. The bride's youngest brother kept passing Pipsqueak off to his friends to dance. It was very cute.

We got home around 1:30 a.m. - the wedding was 2 + hours away- and Pipsqueak even let me sleep in this morning. How great is that?

On a side note, she's excited for school to be starting on Monday. I wonder how long that will last?

The photo is of the shoes my daughter wore to the wedding. Very comfy and stylish.

We're Off!

We're off to the lake for a week starting tomorrow. Not sure if anyone even reads this blog, but decided I'd post this just in case.

Pipsqueak is excited about being able to swim everyday and it should be a lot of fun.

Moody

I'm in a funk. No other way to describe it. The end of summer is coming. School is almost ready to begin for my Pipsqueak in a few short weeks, and I am still w/out a teaching job.

The state I live in is tight for teaching jobs and if my family wasn't here- I think I'm to the point that I'm ready to move for a job. I did it before. However, that was before Pipsqueak and now that we've moved back- I don't foresee moving again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm doing okay as a f/t substitute, but it's not the same as having your own classroom. I miss that a lot and wish someone would retire so I could be hired. Then again- we need the money in the school budget to hire someone and the rate our governor is going that may never happen.

Guess it's time to stop feeling sorry for myself and look forward to the wedding I'm going to in August- though I can't find any clothes to wear to the wedding.

Ah well, hopefully, I'll be out of this funk soon.

19 years later update

I just watched an interview with Jo Rowling on Today and had a couple of questions answered. Thought others might like the answers as well.

Ron and Harry are Aurors at the ministry and have revolutioned the department. Harry is the head of the department actually. Hermione is high up in Magical Law Enforcement- a wizard lawyer.

The ministry has changed and is now a good place to work. It was changed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

There's a new headmaster at Hogwarts and Jo promises to tell us who when she writes the Encylopedia of Harry Potter.

Luna is probably wandering the world as a naturalist, finding interesting things out that no one has discovered before.

Jo said that Mr. Weasley was to die in book 5, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. I'm glad he had the reprive.

Jo also said she doesn't see Snape as a hero. He may have been brave, but if he hadn't loved Lily, he wouldn't have cared what happened to Harry one bit.

And on that note- I'll sign off