Stahlke Adoption

Images

July 1984
As I work in a behind-the-scenes storeroom at Baylor's library, a portable cassette player blares the music of Jonathan's recent piano recital. I'm in tears, as we've just broken up, and he's heading to grad school in North Carolina. A door opens, and he walks into the room--his head shaved BALD! In shock, my first thought was "Has he joined the military?"

Spring Break, 1992
Since I'm in Germany working on my dissertation, Jonathan joined our friend and fellow professor Harry for a few days vacation away from Hong Kong Baptist College. They flew to the Philippines and took a small boat to an island near Manila. As they strolled on the beach to their cottage, the local children thronged around Jonathan, whose long hair had loosened in the wind. Harry heard the children run and tell their parents that they had really, truly met Jesus!

Memorial Day, 2006 (see the post "Misha's Mop" for more info)
Ruslan looked at our seven-year-old Misha, running around with his short brown ponytail, and commented, "He's got War-of-Independence hair."

Easter Sunday, 2008
Paul carries the cross to lead the Easter procession. His measured steps, stern visage, and steely gaze are perfectly set off by the rigid spikes of his mohawk.

October, 2008
Several people tell me that Kola looks European because of his haircut.

8th-Grade Graduation, 2009
Mr. Kress, the principal, gives a short description of each graduating student, gleaned from his time mentoring and teaching them. The crowd and especially the students listen very, very intently. When Paul's turn comes, the principal first complements his athleticism, but Kress brings down the house by explaining his own curiosity each day as to what color (brown, white, pink, blue, or green) Paul's hair will be.

June 2009
Adam is experimenting, too: mohawk with head shaved, then the mohawk trimmed short. It looks better now than the jagged "teeth cuts" from last Halloween, which made it into his seventh-grade school photo.

July 2009
Not to be left out, David persuades his dad to cut his hair, too. He finds a way to get lots of attention every day, both in time and physical contact. As our kids say (in what must be a direct Ukrainian translation), David gets "balded."

posted by Stahlkes @ 4:27 PM