26 Years and Counting...

Well. Next week I will be celebrating my 26th birthday. I use each year at birthday time to reflect on myself and set goals that I would like to accomplish in the upcoming year of my life. This year, as I zero in on my 26th year of life on this planet- I feel pretty good.

First and foremost- I have stayed away from alcohol for over a year. I officially quit drinking in March of 2008 and have not had ONE sip of alcohol since I declared my desire to fight the alcoholism that was blossoming in my daily life. With that, I also came off of my anti-anxiety medicine that I have been ever so dependent upon for the last 11 years of my life. Emotionally and psychologically, I feel better than I ever have before in my life. NICEEEEE.

I cannot however escape the memories that I have of feeling that I could never birth another child out of fear that there was NO WAY I could stop drinking for a full nine months. Kinda crazy, right? Well I am happy to say that fear no longer poisons my soul. Infact, I am currently carrying a little fetus in my womb and my husband, son and myself will welcome our new addition in January :)

I am not really sure what I have planned for the upcoming year but I have set a few goals for myself. For example, I hope to purchase my first home. I hope to birth a healthy baby in the most natural way I can despite the common trend to only have C-sections after you have already had one. I hope to attend adoptee rights day...despite my overwhelming anxiety of traveling and large crowds which I can no longer "xanax" away. And as always, I hope to be a good wife to my husband and a good mother to my children.

If I come up with more ideas and goals- I will post them. I also have some pictures to post once I get access to a computer rather than my blackberry. For now, I am desperately trying to beat this nausea and get through the last week and a half of my first trimester. I hope everyone is enjoying summer :)

PEACEEEEEEE...

A Pleasant Surprise...!!!

Well...I have totally sucked at blogging these days...or maybe I should say these MONTHS. Ever since I hit that rocky road, I somewhat distanced myself from my reunion with my birth family. I tried to explain the way I was feeling to my family and they couldn't have been LESS understanding which completely turned me off. So I've been chilling and enjoying some exciting things going on in my personal life. I will save those for another day though.

My biological family rarely makes any effort to contact me. For the past 3 and a half years, I am almost always the one to contact them. I can probably count the amount of times they have called me using both hands. Which brings me to my surprise!!! My mother and her husband called me at work a few days ago!!! I loved that!!! When I answered the phone, I heard a long "Rachelllllllll"...and I got SO excited! It was the best day ever!

But even better than the phone call itself is my mothers LAUGH. I LOVE it when she laughs. She has this pretty, genuine, deep laugh that will make almost anyone smile. Its one of my favorite things about her :) When she told me that her Cat was pregnant AGAIN...I responded by saying that the kitty was "CALIENTE"!!! A word in my country that means sexually frisky or hot. I learned that the hard way when I was in Chile and tried to use the word to describe the extreme heat beating on my body. I immediately got dirty looks and chuckles from my family who then proceeded to tell me to NEVER use that word unless I was calling myself a slut or whore. OOPS!!! Anyways, when I called the family cat "caliente" my dear mother broke out in a ROARING laugh...and I LOVED every second of it.

That was my pleasant surprise that has pretty much washed the sour taste out of my mouth that I had developed about my familia. Happy days to come?!? Let's hope so!!!

Hope everyone is well in this blogging world...I plan to be posting a little more regularly :) Until next time, Peace Out my amigos!!!

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!!!!

So, I've been wanting to blog about this for a while and I am finally getting around to it. There is an adoptee rights demonstration being held in Philadelphia, PA on July 21st of this year. I will be attending with some of my family and joining my friends who have introduced me to the event...(Hi JIM!!! THANK YOU Jim!!!)

For anyone who does not know, adopteed people do not have rights to their original birth certificates, often making our enterance to this world somewhat questionable. I should mention that FEW states DO allow adoptees to have a copy but still, just because you're adopted doesn't mean you should not have the REAL thing. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, I highly DOUBT you would dispose of YOUR childs birth certificate. If birth certificates weren't important, people wouldn't hold on to them.

SOOOO, a group of adopted people and their loved ones will be getting together to protest the laws that prevent adoptees from having access to their identity. While a change in law would not help me obtain my birth certificate (the international adoption system is FAR more jacked up) I am excited about participating so that my friends and fellow American people may one day have access to theirs.

I will be talking more about the demonstration and why it is important to me over the next few months. In the mean while, if you would like more information please click HERE and check it out.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.
PEACEEEEEE.

Gaby takes on NYC...

Remember a few months ago when I posted an entry about my girl Gabriella who helped make my adoption reunion possible? WELL, Gaby is coming to the US!!! She is taking on NYC and I will have the pleasure of meeting her there in early May...she's the beauty pictured above :)

I am leaving for Brooklyn in a couple weeks for my brothers NYU Graduation (YEAAAAHHH AARON!!!). I am so proud of him and so glad that I will get to finally meet Gaby in person during my trip to celebrate my bro.

It's ROASTING HOT here in D.C. this weekend. Excuse me while I step outside for the next couple days to soak up the sun...and maybe shed a few pounds that I have put on this winter?!?!

PEACEEEEEEEEEE.

White Mothers, Black Sons...

I am always on NPR fishing around for interesting casts. I am especially interested in listening to things regarding biracial families and transracial adoptions. Obviously I am interested in this stuff for a few reasons. #1- Because I was adopted transracially into a white family, making me a transracial adoptee and #2- Because I married an Ethiopian man, making my precious little family biracial.

I came across a cast the other day that is originally from May 15, 2007. It had a great quote in it from Audrey Lord that says "Difference is the dialectic that sparks the imagination." I loved that. While I used to feel embarassed of being "different", I have grown to appreciate my differences for they make me unique and they have made me who I am.

Care to listen? GO AHEAD...check it outttt...!!!

Isn't NPR radio GREAT?!?!

PEACE!!!

CHILE...I ADORE YOU!!!!

I absolutely adore my country!!! As a child, I would brag about being from Chile because I just loved the country so much (despite the fact I knew NOTHING about it). As I have grown older, my love for my country has grown fonder. I think every part about it is incredibly beautiful. The people...the places...the land...the PLANTS!!! Today is EARTH DAY!!! And because I think Chile is the most beautiful place on Earth, I have decided to post this simple picture of my countrys national flower. It is called the Copihue :) Isn't it beautiful?!?! Did I mention I am adding this beauty to my massive ever-expanding tattoo on my back?!?! I will post pictures when it is complete. LOVE THE EARTH. LOVE THIS FLOWER. LOVE IT ALL.

Happy Earth Day to all!!!
Peaceeeee.

DRAMA in Adoption Reunions...

Ahhh...I haven't been blogging these past few weeks because I've hit a rough patch in my reunion. But I figured I may as well share it.

My biological mother is a rather selfish woman. Since finding her over three years ago- she has constantly informed me she does not want me talking to ANY of my siblings, cousins or Aunts and Uncles. She always tells me that I "belong to HER and NOBODY else." While I've tried to explain to her that I have the right to know all of my family, she doesn't seem to care.

To make a long story short- she is VERY displeased that I found my brother on facebook. She's been having her friends write me nasty emails and she called my cousin to curse him out last night- telling him to "pass the message to Rachel." Why THANKS, Mom!!!

Life has speed bumps and road blocks and I seem to have hit the first major one in my adoption reunion. I hope it smoothes out sooner rather than later!

Peace.