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My daughter came home from Russia 2 weeks after turning 10. The first 6 months were a nightmare - lots of tantrums, running away, defiance, hitting, screaming..... her older brother, 11, (my bio) locked his door at night because he was afraid of her! Things improved after 3 months and the negative behavior had all but disappeared after 6 months. Today she is well adjusted, has tested out of ESL and doing great at school. She has a strong personality (very detail oriented where I am not!) and still "clings" to me in unknown situations -but she is a delightful, funny, and responsible child who actually loves her new brother and gets along with him now aside from the normal bickering. During the adjustment period I wondered "what have I done!" but truly have no regrets. I also know I am very fortunate that my daughter has few problems (no learning disabilities, no mental issues or FAS, etc) that we know of at this point.....but the teenage years are just around the corner so I expect new things may crop up then. Attachment is a continuing process so we still work on that daily. All in all, adopting my daughter has added much to our lives (hers too!) but it is not for the faint of heart.
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