Family River

Usually at some point during our young school careers we are all asked to make a family tree. This concept brings up some tender and important points for families formed through adoption. I know that Joy's project is still a way off. But something occurred to me this evening. The three of us were watching Mulan for the first time and there are several scenes in the movie about ancestors. I thought about Joy's ancestors and how mysterious it will always be for her and us. I thought about how important ancestral worship is in China. Then I imagined a huge red and orange tree branching out in all different different directions. The tree was not upright, but upside down and gradually, its branches, and twigs became rivers and streams, tangled and connected, still burning red and orange. The idea of a family of rivers makes sense when it comes to adoption. Families meet, waters mix, separate and perhaps someday mix again.