My story. The beginning - or what I actually know of it.
Just as a disclaimer—my memories may be off and I'm sure my mom will laugh at how I remember the "facts". All I can say in my own defense is that I was a kid (!) and kids fill in the voids with their own sorted imagination! and although some of the details might be off, the story is pretty much the same. :)
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It was 1974 in Vietnam, and the war was ending. I was one of the luckier ones. When I was 4 months old, I was brought to the US to meet my new family. That was in Dec (just in time for the holidays). Back then, PAPs weren't expected to travel to Vietnam (for obvious reasons), but the children were brought to their families and picked up at the airport. That seems so oddly easy compared to the process now. My arrival was not without (minor) incident. My mom and family waited at JFK airport anticipating the arrival of their long, long-awaited daughter (the length of the process hasn't changed all that much since then)... just to find out they were going to have to wait one more day. Ouch!! Apparently, the children and escorts missed the connection flight in Europe!! Heartbreaking! I did, however, arrive safely the next day. It's a story my mom always told, but now as a waiting PAP myself, I have a whole new appreciation for it! I'd be bouncing off the walls if that was me! :)
I arrived in a tiny plastic carrier with two things: a colorful, plastic bird-like charm thing and a dead, gray tooth.
First, the charm: we think the nurses and caretakers from the orphanage must have pinned it to me as a symbol of luck and protection for the long journey ahead. My mom still has it, and it's framed alongside a photo of my arrival.
Second, the gray tooth. Not really sure about this one. In time we would find out it was a dead tooth. It was there for a long time. Even when all my other teeth came in and were ready to come out, that one wouldn't fall out. It was just there. A big, gray, tooth front and center, top row. It wound up getting pulled and that was the end of it (and the beginning of MANY visits to the dentist! haha).
Obviously, we can only guess why I was left on the orphanage steps. I'm sure we could speculate hundreds of reasons. One theory has always been: The Gray Tooth. If I was born with it, there may have been some superstition involved— it (the tooth) or me being an omen of bad luck. Who knows. You may think that's silly, but when you don't know - and know you will probably never get answers, you explore all scenarios. Also, Asian cultures are much more superstitious than western culture and I believe it is very much a possibility. I'd believe almost anything could have been possible during that time. Don't worry down the road, I'm sure I'll share some of my other theories!
Anyway, I have gotten completely side-tracked now. I guess that is going to happen as I start rehashing All-Things-Adoption! Back to 1974... So here I am, this small little thing (so I hear), welcomed into my new family and home: a mom and dad and two older brothers. It was the beginning for me with a world of opportunities ahead, and what I consider the most life-changing event in my life.
