I spend so much time reading the blog posts of our SAC friends, and yet haven't spent much time on my own. For the past month, our blog was down and I did not realize it until last week. Now that it's back online, I wanted to first thank you all for your own blog posts. It really does help me realize that we're all going through our own trials in one way or another. We draw strength from each other, whether on Facebook, blogs, lunches, etc.
As a quick update, we are so glad that Yuliya made it past her 8th grade year. There is so much going on at that age and in that grade. I remember my son going through that. Junior high is tough, no matter what. During that year, we got some excellent professional help as we struggled to understand what normal teenage-dome was and what was fallout from her early years in Ukraine. We already knew that RAD was a factor, as it is with so many others. What we also knew was that bio-mom was/is a street alcoholic in Ukraine, which is what ultimately allowed us to adopt Yuliya. What we were not sure of was if that nasty habit affected her while Yuliya was in utero. Some simple tests confirmed that suspicion. On the bright side, it helped us realize some of the other things we had previously thought were RAD related are actually FASD related. Yep, our girl got the 1-2 punch in Ukraine. Knowing this has made things easier to understand. She's still a teenager, in all its glory. But some of the social and academic issues make a little more sense. We've come a long ways.
The picture above is Yuliya and her best friend, Masey -- an amazing girl who has been a Godsend for Yuliya. She has the patience of Job, and loves Yuliya. RAD issues trickle over into all aspects of a child's life, including friendships and relationships, so when a good friend comes along who understands this, it is an answer to prayers.
I admire and respect families who adopts an older child. I've met some amazing families, here in Utah and abroad. Each family takes on an adventure they never imagined was possible. It pushes us to so many new limits of patience, understanding, long-suffering, and sanity! And when we think we've reached our limits, something small happens, such as a spontaneous hug, a simple 'thank you', or an 'I love You' text that make us realize that this journey does have its perks.
