One of the agency staffers is heading to Ethiopia at the end of the first week of June, so I was told (in response to an inquiry) that I could send a package to my boy via the agency - she would carry it in her luggage and give it to him.
It needed to be small enough to fit inside a large Ziploc bag. So what to send? I thought back to when I sent a package to Giggles in China – I include a small stuffed animal, a vest I had made (I made matching ones for both of us), a single-use camera, and a small photo album with pictures of me, the house, and friends. (Unfortunately, none of this came back to Canada with her, but I know she had seen the pictures as when she first saw my parents and I she recognized us.)
This time round I didn’t have time to make another matching vest, so everything had to be bought or scrounged. I had Giggles pick out a small stuffy (a bear with a blue t-shirt and a ladybug on its foot) and draw a picture to send her little brother, tucked inside a card in which I wrote a few words. I included a small blanket (that we have slept with, so it will smell of Giggles and me) – for which we have a partner, in case that one doesn’t come back, and a single-use camera again with the hope of receiving pictures of him and his friends at the orphanage. For the photo album, I included pictures of me, Giggles, Laolao and Laoye (grandparents), and a few close friends, along with some captions.
In addition, I followed the suggestion of someone on another blog and included my son in some pictures. How? By printing a photo of his head almost life-size (all I have is a mug-shot, so I just printed that photo on a standard letter-sized sheet), cut it out, pasted it on stiff cardboard and put a stick to hold it, then dressed him in a t-shirt and set the “puppet” in various places and took pictures of him with us or on his own. Giggles thought this was weird, and called it her brother-puppet. (So I think we’ll refer to him as Poppet on this blog, at least for the time being.)
Here are some pictures of Poppet in the family.
Giggles, Poppet and Mama in L's back yard.
Poppet and Giggles on the top bunk of the bunkbed.
Poppet on the bottom bunk of the bunkbed.
Giggles and Poppet eating lunch.
Poppet and Giggles on the deck by the papyrus plant.
Giggles, Mama and Poppet in L's kitchen.
All of this just barely fit into the Ziploc bag. But with some squishing, I got the extra sturdy fastener sealed.
So by early next week, I imagine Poppet will see pictures of us for the first time!
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