Dear L.S.*,

I am writing you a letter that I know you can�t read. This is hardly your fault, as you are, after all, not yet a year old and, until recently, have heard only Chinese spoken to you. But nevertheless, there are a few important things I think you ought to know on this, your first day in your new home.

First of all, as I�m sure you�ve already discovered, you are a very lucky girl. I�ve known your Mommy since we were both little girls, a bit older than you. She is a very special, and magical person with a gift for turning everyday things into adventures. I haven�t known your Daddy as well or as long, but he is one of the warmest and kindest people you will ever meet. Your Mommy and Daddy have been waiting for you for a very long time, as have all of us who know and love them. And now, we all have you to love too.

It must be strange and disorienting to be taken from the place you�ve always known, full of other baby girls like yourself, on a journey halfway across the world to your new home with no children but you to command attention. But I know you will love your new home and family. We can�t wait to meet you.

Second, all this luckiness does not come without some expectations of you. Oh, no. You have some very important jobs. You must wake your parents early and often � they need to learn how to function without sleep, so that when you�re a teenager and you�re driving around in cars with boys, they�ll have had some practice with insomnia. Spilling food frequently, especially on the fanciest clothes, is also very important. It reminds your mom and dad that playclothes are really a better idea and assures you of comfort most of the time. It also provides endless photo opportunities. To that end, I can personally suggest turning a full bowl of chocolate pudding upside down on your head and wearing it like a hat. Always a crowd pleaser. Another important job involves the telephone. That�s that little appliance with all the buttons on it that rings every now and again. Whenever you see your mommy or daddy talking on the phone, it is your job to start yelling as loudly as possible. This ensures that your parents are not distracted from their primary job of taking care of you. You should also plan on rolling up your little sleeves and getting involved with some interior design. Grownups, even those with artistic tendencies like your mom and dad, have a relatively bland sense of style. I�m sure you�ve seen boxes of crayons and paints lying around the house somewhere. Wouldn�t some of those walls look better with a little more color on them?

But your most important job of all is to love your mom and dad as much as they love you, which is going to be very, very hard. Because they love you an awful lot.

But just in case those redecorating plans backfire on you, you�re always welcome to come stay with us for a while, at least until your mom and dad have time to repaint your room.

Welcome, L.S.! We love you!

*L.S. is the new daughter of my childhood friend K. and her husband M. They adopted her in China on June 6 and are coming home today.

0 people said it like they meant it