Celebrating the Year of the Rooster

We had such a fun time today. At the last minute, we decided to take our girls to the Family with Children from China (FCC) Between the New Year's Party, celebrating the Year of the Rooster. I couldn't think of a good way to explain the party to La Nina; she already celebrated the New Year and heck, the concept of China celebrating a different New Year based on the Moon cycle is complicated. So I told her it was a birthday party for a Rooster. She seemed to get that concept, but spent most of the party searching for the birthday chickens.

Lost chickens aside, the party was a blast. More than 200 adoptees and their families were entertained by Chinese Dancers, singers and even Lion Dancers. At the end, the girls formed a dragon to parade around the Clark Kerr Conference Center Auditorium. Several dignitaries were present at the event, including the Mayor of Berkeley, who declared it China Adoption Day in the city of Berkeley, and the Consulate General from China. The families who adopted from China in 2004 were given the opportunity to introduce our children to him. I had the honor of introducing the Consulate General to our Maggie. I think Maggie was the most recent arrival introduced, but I could be wrong.

Aside from all the festivities, it was so fun to see girls (and a few boys) of all shapes and sizes enjoying the afternoon sun. The girls were running around, selling baked goods for charity, laughing, falling in the water; their joy was infectious. Part of the fun for us was seeing La Nina and Maggie running around with so many kids who share their story.

At one point, I had the opportunity to stand outside the main auditorium and look in at the sea of black, shiny haired girls who were enthralled by the Lion dancing on stage. The girls were all gathered around the stage, some were dancing, some had their hands over their ears, some stood just looking in awe. As I looked at the mass of girls, I felt a pang of loss for China and all their nameless, faceless birth parents. I couldn't help but wonder, what would the good people of China make of this if they could see these girls gathered in one place? What must the Consulate General think when he sees this? What will the Consulate General tell his family and friends back home about our little shindig? Would all their birth parents ever imagine their daughters together attending such an event held a world away?

While I will never know what the others think, I can tell you this. In that room today with all those girls was another group: their parents. And those people had a look of joy on their face. As parents of these beautiful Chinese daughters, we have so much to celebrate as we ring in the Year of the Rooster. We have beautiful daughters in our lives. We have an organization, like FCC, with which we find each other. And mostly, we have been connected to another culture through our daughters. Celebrating China and its culture adds richness to our lives. And that richness is something to celebrate as we ring in the Year of the Rooster.