Stories From Our Families

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Be Prepared You Never Know Who You’ll Meet

The Story of how Leah and Grace Met

by Susan Gensel

My Mother always said you never know who you’ll meet, and always in the oddest places!  This was the case when two families met in China back in February of 2002.  Our travel group included nine families, and I was the only single parent.  My sister Karen and I were so thankful that the hotel had a playroom for the children since there were days when it was impossible to go outside to the park or for walks.

Our last full day in China it was raining so my new daughter Leah, my sister Karen, and I decided to go to the playroom one last time.  While Leah and I were playing at the stacking table, a little girl walked up and started playing with us.  There were so many children and families there that day, and most of the children were playing on their own or with a parent.  So it was surprising when this little girl just started playing with Leah and me as if she knew us.  Her name was Grace.  Leah (left) and Grace, in china, in the photo to the right.                           

A man asked permission to take a picture of his granddaughter (Grace) and Leah playing together.  We began talking and found out that Grace’s Mom Bridgett was also a single Mom from Illinois, and we only lived ONE mile from each other.  I also learned the girls would be attending the same daycare in the fall, and would be in the same class (Leah is three months older than Grace).  I could not believe that in the playroom in China that Grace would choose Leah to come and play with out of the 10 children in the room.  Bridgett and I exchanged addresses and phone numbers, and promised to have the girls get together soon.

Leah and Grace (both turn four this year) see each other everyday at school, and we visit each other’s homes as often as possible.  As you can see, the girls still love to play together, and are always up to something.  It’s so helpful to have another single Mom to run things past and get another persons view of parenting situations. 

So if you’re a family awaiting your new daughter or son in China, be sure to visit hotel playroom!  But be prepared - - you just never know whom you’ll meet, and they may live in your hometown!

Leah and Grace swimming

The Tree of Yet-to-Come

By Jessica A. Tarbox

 Once upon a time, a long time ago, a man and a woman lived with their seven children in a small village at the edge of a forest.  According to village tradition, on the day the man and woman were married, they planted a special tree behind their home.  This tree, grown from the seed of its ancient mother, the Tree of Yet-to-Come, in the town’s center, was rumored to bring happiness, health and tranquility.  If planted on the day of a couple’s wedding, it also was said to sprout one branch for each child that would grace the union, and each child’s branch would bloom only when the child was preparing to turn a major corner in his life.

As the years passed, the children’s branches began to bloom.  Some bloomed earlier than others, some bloomed more often than others, but in time every branch was lush with the soft green leaves of life’s transformations.

All except one.

The middle daughter was beloved by all who knew her.  She was giving and selfless, and when she glanced out at her bare branch every morning, she was not troubled.  “Perhaps,” she thought, “I am destined to walk a straight path in my life, and that is not a tragedy, for I am blessed with my father and mother and brothers and sisters.”

One morning, the middle daughter looked out the window at the Tree of Yet-to-Come, as she did every morning, and there on the end of her branch was a splendid yellow rose.  Startled, she rushed out to touch it, and the rose indeed was real.  The sudden growth of such a beautiful flower confused her, because all her brothers’ and sisters’ branches were covered in large green leaves- not one blossomed into a flower.  She was surprised, but the rose was so lovely she could not be frightened by this strange outcome.

She prayed for answers, and that night she dreamt of two women.  One came running to her in anxiety and fear, faceless and speaking words that the middle daughter could not understand.  The woman seemed to be lost, but when the middle daughter tried to comfort her, the woman simply turned and fled.  Soon after, the second woman appeared at her side, and the middle daughter recognized the elegance and calm of this woman she had not seen for many years. 

“I am not the godmother you will find in fairy tales,” the second woman said.  “I am not here to determine your fate with a magic pumpkin and glass slippers.  I am only here to guide you round the corner your branch has foreseen.  Your path has been straight for so long because this is the sharpest turn you will make in your life, but you are not alone.  Tomorrow you will take a long journey and encounter your destiny on that road – you will know it when you feel it.  I will be with you, so do not be frightened.”

At this, the middle daughter awoke.  Inspired by the anxiety of the first woman and the words of the second, she set out on the road that led far away, deep into a different land.  She walked for hours, and near sunset, as her shoulders sagged in despair and she was very close to turning back, she heard whispers like those of the first woman in her dream.  She stopped in the path and listened, and as the foreign words filled her ears, she heard another sound, a sound like rich laughter and tears, as if someone could not decide what to feel. 

The middle daughter walked a little ways down the path, and there, around a sharp bend in the road, was a baby, laughing and crying.  She was alarmed that this baby was lost and began to call for its parents, but the only sound she heard were those foreign words coming from somewhere behind her.  And suddenly, she magically began to understand what that fear- and hope-filled voice was saying to her:

“My baby’s life is your life now.  I have loved her but she is meant for you.  Please help her.”

The middle daughter picked up the baby, immediately loved her, and started for home.  The foreign words slowly faded but would resonate in their memories as if from a long-lost dream.  The middle daughter knew that the godmother in her dream had told the truth – this baby was the reason her path had been so straight, and that this corner would be the greatest joy of her life.  And as she arrived home, she glanced out at the Tree of Yet-to-Come again, and there alongside the yellow rose had blossomed another, bright red rose.

*This fable was written by J. Tarbox, for her Aunt Lynn on the baptism day of Lynn’s daughter, adopted from China in October 2002.**