A Little Good News
By Joan Stuart Yenawine

Sometimes, against all odds, things just work out. Take the case of Lisa Battaglino and her husband, Dennis Rodrigues, of Bridgewater. From an outsider's point of view, the last thing they needed was a new baby. They were already raising two teenagers who were less than excited at the prospect of a new sibling. They also had challenging, time-consuming jobs, and a limited amount of money. Despite all the reasons not to, they embarked on the expensive and emotionally trying process of international adoption.

"We didn't even tell most people about it until it was just around the corner and we were sure we were going to get the baby," says Lisa. "When you're forty, people aren't as excited when you tell them you are going to adopt. They think it is time for you to concentrate on your career, not start all over again with a baby." As they began the adoption process, she asked herself all the questions that her friends and family eventually would: Why a baby? Why from Russia? Why now?

"Maybe it was naiveté, or maybe, in the back of our minds, we'd known it was right for us," muses Lisa. She had a romantic vision of her family's future. She pictured her daughter going through her stormy adolescent years with a little brother she could love, unconditionally. as he would love her. She envisioned her 14 year-old son having someone to wrestle with, and someday, to play football with. She dreamed of a house with the stereo turned down so the baby could sleep. Somehow, the idea of raising a toddler and teenagers at the same time just made sense.

For Lisa, the idea of adoption also appealed to her as a way to share the good things in her life. She had traveled to Moscow before, and was familiar with the bleak realities that a child without a family would face there. She saw that their large house and warm, stable family life was something they could offer as a small antidote against the very large problems that poverty has created in Russia.

Their decision to adopt was not, however, without its moments of doubt- tough financial choices had to be made. The feelings of her older children had to be considered. Less-than-perfect scenarios had to be contemplated: if the baby was sick, would they still go ahead with the adoption? How would she feel about raising a child she had not given birth to? "Despite my best intentions, I think deep down, I felt there was no way I could love another baby the way I loved the other two. But there is absolutely no difference in the intensity of the feeling. That was probably the biggest surprise for me."

Lisa says the Bridgewater community's response to Andrew, and to adoption has been overwhelmingly positive, "It's been amazing. People we didn't even know that well have shown up at our door with gifts. People have been very excited and interested in our adoption."

However, like most adoptive parents, she has also had a few encounters with people who felt compelled to tell her all the horror stories they knew about Russian adoptions gone wrong. Thankfully, Lisa and Dennis' experience bore no similarities. Their adoption agency, The Alliance for Children in Wellesley, smoothed the process in Russia by arranging for an interpreter to assist them. They describe their experience as very emotional, but essentially problem-free. When they finally held Andrew for the first time in the orphanage, they knew their decision was the right one.

"Everything I had hoped for and fantasized about has happened," says Lisa. The volume on the stereo is lower, and both of her older children have embraced their new roles within the family. Her advice to others considering adoption is, "Don't be afraid. Everything you gain from it is a hundred times greater than everything you are afraid of."