Chinese Granny Says......

Sometimes before Jade falls asleep and we are lying together on her bed in the dark, we chat about her life in China. She knows that there are nannies in the orphanage looking after all the babies. She calls them the Chinese Grannies...
When we were in China, waiting in a long line, the nanny from the orphanage came and whispered something in Jade's ear. Of course, we don't know what was said, but I like to think it was something sweet and kind. The nanny softly stroked Jade's cheek before she walked away. Well, a while ago...and I'm guessing over a year ago, Jade and I were having a little chat at bedtime and I told her about the nanny talking to her and I asked her if she remembered what she said. Jade replied "Yes, but it's a secret" And that was that.

Until tonight!

Tonight she says, "Mommy, I remember what my Chinese Granny said in my ear". And then she made me guess!!! So, after all my guesses about what the (gr)nanny said, she confirmed that Granny said this: "I will miss you very much. Your family loves you very much. I hope you have a nice life" In my heart I know the (gr)nanny said something like that to her.

When she wants to talk about her life in China I love to ask her questions about the orphange and the other babies. It is a way for her to talk about it and be ok with her life before us, and it's a riot to hear what she says. So tonight I asked her if that nanny who whispered in her ear cuddled with her, read to her and fed her. Jade told me that she had to do that with all the babies, not just her. She told me that her granny had a bun in the back of her head. She says the food here is better than the food there.There all she had to eat was spaghetti and ketchup (this cracked me right up. That was pretty much all that Mark ate in China....at $10 US a plate!). She didn't like the meatballs in China either. And she had roasted eggs. She ate lots and lots of roasted eggs!! She means steamed eggs, but that is totally her to call them roasted instead of steamed! Finally she asked who the first baby was to live in an orphanage. I don't know, I told her. And to myself I thought: I bet that woman is about 30 years old now and has her own babies.

I'm glad that the memories she makes for herself are happy ones. She says she played with all the other babies and that they had lots of toys to pick from.


Jan. 2005