Community in the Cocoon

The older wiser I get, the more I realize that I married well.

Not only is my husband a total stud, and doting father, but there were some supplementary perks to joining forces with him, as well. For one, I know I will never long for the latest and greatest in technology. The tech industry is his vocation, passion, and hobby. I’ve also come to truly appreciate what a wonderful family I married in to. My in-laws are THE BEST.

My husband’s mother, who has been one of the biggest champions in the recent expansion of our family via adoption, has made it clear that while she understands and respects our cocooning and attachment efforts, she’ll be en route over the mountains “and through the woods” that divide us just as soon as we give her the green light. Not at all pushy, yet not at all uninterested. She’s elated to meet her newest grandchild.

To appease Nie-Nie (Grandma, in Mandarin) and Papa D in the meantime, we have utilized the copious forms of technology that Smarty-Pants-Husband so graciously places at our disposal.

Cocooning Survival Tactic #4:

Utilize Technology

Skype is our friend. We text Nie-Nie photos, frequently. She likes every one of our Facebook pictures and subscribes to this blog. She checks in, yet she respects our boundaries. She’s the best.

It’s not just for the grandparents’ sake– it’s for us, too! Cocooning can be isolating. That IS kind of the whole point. It’s critical to have your Besties on speed-dial, the ones who give it to you straight, that you can be candid with, the Barnabas friends who always have an encouraging word that points you to Jesus.

Let your kids- old and new– Facetime with their friends. Our girls LOVE this, and feel so grown up when they get to chat in this way with their chums. Our family loves seeing New Brother’s eager side-waves to the moving faces when we Skype.

Regular postings on Facebook and our blog have also been helpful in pulling friends and family in to our little bubble. We feel more connected to our community when it is a virtual one, free from the metes of geography.

Today, to pacify our adoring Nie-Nie, I’m including photos from our girls’ very first piano recital…

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she’s not nervous, at all, why do you ask?
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warming up on the FANCY piano
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awaiting her turn
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ring pop, for guaranteed quiet during a concert
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with their sweet teacher, neighbor, babysitter
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they were most excited about the REFRESHMENTS after the program, they shooed me away saying “Mom, we’re VISITING.” such big girls
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so proud of them for facing their fears, doing their best, and recovering well from inevitable finger slips… they were so nervous, I had assured them the only way we would NOT be proud of their efforts would be if they had gone up and destroyed the piano with a sledgehammer

 


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