the name game

December 5, 2014 adoption realities, Tara 1 Comments

My sister is due to have her first baby pretty much anytime within the next couple of weeks. Needless to say, there is much excitement in our home as the kids anticipate the arrival of their new baby cousin!

Not to mention, every time they see something intended to be used or worn by a baby girl, they try to convince me we need to purchase it as a gift for some yet-to-be-determined occasion. Apparently shopping for baby showers just wasn’t enough for them!

Recently my sister was visiting, and Cora was talking to her about the new baby. At one point she asked, “What will Annabelle’s name be when she gets bigger?” To everyone else in the room, it seemed like an odd question. We all know that when a baby is born, their name remains with them for the rest of their lives. But to the little girl who had three different names by the time her fourth birthday rolled around, the question was perfectly legitimate.

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Cora was with her birth family for several months and went by the unknown name they had given her, and then she went to the orphanage where she was given a new “Chinese” name. Then finally, she received her “American” name…though we did keep her orphanage name as a middle name. She had no way of knowing that changing names isn’t normal. In her world, that’s all she’s known. And it breaks my heart.





One response to “the name game”

  1. CSmith says:

    It really brings home the fact that orphans have nothing to call their own, no family, no home, no relationship; everything, even their name, is transient. They need to be in families so urgently!

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