An Inspiring Story of International-Adoption
As part of my early-retirment ('07) celebration, one of my friend's got a 27' C class Winnebago motorhome which will be our mode of transportation for a cross-continent trek to visit the Maritimes & the Eastern Seaboard. Starting from Vancouver on the West Coast, the 2 of us will make our way to Toronto, where our wives will then fly out to meet us for the eastern half. During this trip, we will be making a visit, by invitation, to a special acquaintance in Nova Scotia.
There is a story behind this "special acquaintance": During the summer, as Eva was finishing her reading of the Canadian Business magazine, she pointed out to me that the cover story has a familiar ring to it: The headline reads "Retire Happy"; and the sub-title reads "How to Turn Your Life's Second Act into Prime Time". The cover is a photo spread of a family, a caucasian couple with three adopted daughters. As I read on, the husband is the recently retired CEO of a national corporation. This couple is in their early 60's, with 4 grown-children, 8 grand-children, and 3 adopted-daugthers from China, whose ages range from 2 to 8. Furthermore, this couple had been foster-parents for the most part.
This man had a very humble beginning, started as an underground miner in northern Ontario; however, he never gave up on his own education, amassing degrees in political science, history, business, and an MBA. He and his wife have moved 26 times in their married life, usually at the request of employers offering new challenges and bigger paycheques. The man's enthusiam for adoption is not confined only to his daughters. He serves on the board of directors of Children's Bridge, and also as president of a related non-profit organization, the Children's Bridge Foundation, which funds are aimed at assisting orphans in China and Vietnam who are unlikely to be adopted. The funds have been spent on libraries, computer labs, sports equipments, and musical instruments for orphanages, sponsoring the education of teenage orphans, and surgeries for Vietnamese children with cleft lips and palates. With his experience & connection in the corporate circle, the fund-raising efforts will be sure to benefit.
My admiration for his energy, enthusiasm, and love inspired me to pick up the phone, after a successful Internet search for his telephone listing. He was delighted to hear of a similar pending-adoption story, and promptly invited us for a visit when we arrive in Nova Scotia; of course, with our soon-to-be adopted child/children. The story has also inspired me to write a series of memoir of my own retirement, which will be titled, "ACT II"; hence, the title of this weblog.
There is a story behind this "special acquaintance": During the summer, as Eva was finishing her reading of the Canadian Business magazine, she pointed out to me that the cover story has a familiar ring to it: The headline reads "Retire Happy"; and the sub-title reads "How to Turn Your Life's Second Act into Prime Time". The cover is a photo spread of a family, a caucasian couple with three adopted daughters. As I read on, the husband is the recently retired CEO of a national corporation. This couple is in their early 60's, with 4 grown-children, 8 grand-children, and 3 adopted-daugthers from China, whose ages range from 2 to 8. Furthermore, this couple had been foster-parents for the most part.
This man had a very humble beginning, started as an underground miner in northern Ontario; however, he never gave up on his own education, amassing degrees in political science, history, business, and an MBA. He and his wife have moved 26 times in their married life, usually at the request of employers offering new challenges and bigger paycheques. The man's enthusiam for adoption is not confined only to his daughters. He serves on the board of directors of Children's Bridge, and also as president of a related non-profit organization, the Children's Bridge Foundation, which funds are aimed at assisting orphans in China and Vietnam who are unlikely to be adopted. The funds have been spent on libraries, computer labs, sports equipments, and musical instruments for orphanages, sponsoring the education of teenage orphans, and surgeries for Vietnamese children with cleft lips and palates. With his experience & connection in the corporate circle, the fund-raising efforts will be sure to benefit.
My admiration for his energy, enthusiasm, and love inspired me to pick up the phone, after a successful Internet search for his telephone listing. He was delighted to hear of a similar pending-adoption story, and promptly invited us for a visit when we arrive in Nova Scotia; of course, with our soon-to-be adopted child/children. The story has also inspired me to write a series of memoir of my own retirement, which will be titled, "ACT II"; hence, the title of this weblog.
Visitors to this blog are encouraged to leave a comment, as a mutual exchange of good cheers and blessings. If you have an adoption blog and wish to share, leave us an URL.
posted by akwxACT2 at 4:57 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home