The Truman Show (Reflections of China)

On September 16, 2006 a boy was born in Guigang City, Guanxi Province, People's Republic of China. A young couple's joy of anticipation turned to bitter disappointment when they saw that their child was born with physical defects including a malformed left hand and foot. To many Chinese, birth defects are a sign of bad luck and the mother is often blamed for them. She may be shunned or even kicked out by her family. Farming families, seeking healthy sons to help with the crops, often abandon daughters or deformed boys in hopes that they can try again for a normal son. No one knows exactly why five-day old Jiang Yi Zhan was left by the side of the road by his biological parents. What is known is that he became one of the thousands of orphans left to languish in a dismal state run institution with no one to love him and no one to love.

"Zhan-Zhan's" luck began to change when he was slightly more than one year old. He was placed in a foster home and was well cared for there. He grew to love his "Ma-ma" and became settled in his new enviornment. Almost one full year later, he was torn away from the only mother he ever knew and placed in the arms of two red-eyed, pale-skinned strangers. For days, little Truman (as he has been re-named) cried endlessly for his foster mother. He was reserved and didn't eat much. His new parents worried that he was not handling the changes in his life well. But then, we flew to Guangzhou. A change of scenery brought a change in attitude for little T. He didn't crawl out of his shell- he bounded out of it. He learned to eat pizza, throw temper tantrums, perform for crowds, and flirt with the ladies. He has, in a matter of days, become a full fledged member of the Naughton family with all the quirks that make us who we are. He is certifiably nuts- just like the rest of us. He will fit in just fine at the Hartsburg Homestead. We can't wait for you all to meet him. Between him and Alex, we are no doubt the luckiest parents around.

Today, Truman was blessed by a Buddhist monk at a beautiful temple. Later we shopped some more and finalized the adoption at the American Consulate. When we land on U.S. soil, Little T will be a legal U.S. citizen. We leave for the airport at 5:00am tomorrow. We'll be home in our own bed at about 10:00pm Saturday night. Wow. Did we really just spend two weeks in China?!