My family is special because my mommy and daddy adopted all of us, and because of this, even though we came from different parts of the world (I came from Germany when I was a little baby), we are now brothers and sisters.
In my family there's my mommy and daddy (their names are Bill and Louisiana), my grandpa and granny (they are mommy's parents), and my brothers and sisters. There are 50 of us kids. That is a LOT of kids; but mommy and daddy wanted a big family, which was why they adopted all of us. It seems that once they got started, they just couldn't stop until the number went to 50! And now there's two more kids in the family; but they are only staying for a short time, until the spring. Their names are Hanh and Linn, and they are sisters. They are from a country called Cambodia, which is near Vietnam, where some of my brothers and sisters are from. (I also have brothers and sisters from India, Japan, Korea, Russia, Iran, America, Canada, China, Mexico, South America, and Europe, which is where I am from. As you already know, I am from Germany.)
You may notice one thing immediately once you see my family. Besides being very big, there are also kids in my family who are disabled. Some of the kids (like me) are in wheelchairs, and some walk on crutches and wear leg braces on their legs. Some are also blind, and me and my little brother (Mario) can't hear very well. (I can hear a little with hearing aids, but Mario is totally deaf. He can't hear a thing at all, even with hearing aids.) My one little brother (Jo-El) was burned, and because of it he is badly scarred all over his body. And another brother has a hole in his throat to breathe. One of my sisters is very small, and she will always be little. Another sister has arthritis and is in pain a lot. She also has some breathing problems and sometimes has to go to the hospital when her breathing gives her fits. But she is otherwise O.K. But despite all of our problems, we are still kids to mommy and daddy, and they want others to treat us like normal kids.
You also notice that us kids are different colors. We all have different colored skins, eyes, and hair. But even though a lot of us don't even look alike, we are still brothers and sisters because we were adopted by the same parents, and so that makes us brothers and sisters. And I love all of them!
I kind of like it that way. Just because I am disabled doesn't mean I am stupid! I have a brain, and I don't like being made fun of! It is mean, and people who do that are STUPID!!
I don't mind being adopted because my family is the one I've really ever known. I've been with them since I was a baby. My mommy died when I was being born, so I never knew her. (I don't know anything about my daddy; I guess he left her before I was born or he left her when my brother, Erich, was small. Erich is my older brother; I've met him a few times, and he looks a lot like me. He lives in New York City.) Being adopted may botehr some people, but it really doesn't bother me. I am GLAD I am adopted because if it were not for my family, I wouldn't have a home..or a LIFE!!
By the way, my daddy works at Wal*Mart, and my mommy works at a hospital. She is a nurse. She's worked at the hospital since I was little, and daddy has been at Wal*Mart for almost two years. He is a greeter. He greets people as they come into Wal*Mart and checks their things. He also watches for shoplifters.
I am a very lucky little boy! And I love my family!!
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
