Standing over Daniel's crib, it occured to me that he is only a couple of weeks from being 20 months old.
There isn't much particularly special about that milestone for most kids. It's the equivalent to turning 22 years old - nothing special.
That's not the case for Daniel however. At 20 months he will have spent exactly half of his life with his foster mother and half his life with us, and each day going forward his time in Colombia will become a smaller and smaller percentage of his total life. With his time in Colombia quickly fading into the distance of the past, we enevietably ask ourselves, "what will he remember from Colombia?"
"Do you think if his foster mother walked into the room that he would recognize her,"asked Claudia.
I pause and reply, "it is hard to say. He is shy with strangers but warms up quickly to them."
"Do you think he remembers Colombia," she asks.
"I don't think so. Not at this point," I reply. "But we will go back to visit every couple of years. You still have family and friends who we can visit and we will take him to see places that were part of the adoption process like where we picked up his Colombian passport."
We try to maintain his Colombian heritage in the house. We participated in a couple of Novenas during the days leading up to Christmas. We play Colombian nursury music and we speak Spanish at home. We do what we can.
But the reality is he will only have photos and video to remember his days living in Colombia. Looking forward, he will have so many more opportunities than he would have probably had in Colombia. That's what is so exciting about thinking of his future.
Standing over his crib, Claudia and I watch him pull the blanket over his face and say, "night night."
He is completely happy. As I watch him fade off to sleep, I can't help but smile at the thought of watching him grow up. There are so many things I want to do with him when he gets older that he can't do yet like going for a hike or camping. Of course, I don't lose sight of enjoying Daniel's 20th month and all the other months between now and our first camping trip.
