People say all the time how “lucky” my new little brother is. Imagine a three year old little boy living in a Russian orphanage, who didn’t know how to play with the simplest toys, and couldn’t eat with a spoon or fork. He wasn’t able to talk much and was so weak and skinny he could barley walk. Even though he was three, he only weighed a little over 20 pounds. He had never been held or tucked in to sleep. He didn’t have a mother to wipe his tears, or pick him up when he fell down. No one put his pictures up on a refrigerator and looked at them proudly. Worst of all, he had never really been loved.
It all started in Fall 2008 was when my mom asked me, “What do you think about having a new little brother?” I told her that I was all in for the idea. I have a younger sister and brother and we’re all 2 years apart. I was ready to take responsibility of being a big brother again, even if I had to watch him and look after him if no one else could. Then my mom and dad told me that they were thinking about adopting a little boy from Russia. His name is Sasha (which is Alex in Russian). He was 3 years old and had been living in an orphanage in Stavropol, Russia his entire life. They asked me if I was okay with the fact that we were adopting him and I was. They showed me pictures of him and he had a weak left eye. It didn’t matter to me that his eye was weak because we could get it corrected and it would look normal after surgery. Even if it couldn’t be corrected, it would be okay with me.
Around April 2009, my parents went to Russia to go visit him. They said he was very weak and skinny, but very loving. He was also sick and was almost taken to the hospital. My parents were worried because they had heard of a few families who were in the process of adopting but the child became ill and died. Then, later in July my parents went back to Russia and went to the Russian Federation Court to legally adopt him. They visited him more and then came home. We were all eager to see him in person. I was very excited because the next visit to Russia they were going to take him back home.
Finally August 09, my parents went to Russia to bring Sasha home. When I first saw him he was very skinny and shy. He had no idea what was going on and couldn’t speak one word of English. We fed him right away and he ate more than any of us would eat. It was weird because we gave him toys but he only played with plastic cups and he loved stickers. It was funny because the simplest things like cups or turning on and off a light switch would entertain him and keep him happy.
Everyday he got more and more comfortable with us. He began to speak English within a few weeks. He would say simple words like dog and cat and he knew all our names. He was learning very quickly and picked up on a lot. We then got him surgery for his eye, which is completely corrected and unnoticeable. He has also gained a lot of weigh. He now knows so much English. He goes to school and still loves playing with cups and tops and is obsessed with stickers, although now also loves trains and cars.
So when people tell me that my brother is lucky, I tell them no, I’m the lucky one. My parents held me when I was first born and when I cried, and loved me. They have been there for every birthday I’ve had. They have fed me and had given me an education that I needed. My parents have always loved me.
I’m the lucky one because I was never in an orphanage waiting to get out. I know now that I’m even luckier because this little Russian boy, who wasn’t so lucky in life, now is finally “home” and is now my little brother.
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