– Baba– that means Dad in Arabic. And he calls me– how about you say it?
– What do I call you?
– Alaa Aldeen
– Alaa Aldeen– and that means to be close to God.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
– Well, being a single dad with an adoptive child, it is throwing yourself into the mix because unlike parents who raised their children from birth to adulthood, Alaa and I got together when he was about 10 years old. I really appreciate the struggles that other single parents have. You have to take care of the lawn, cook, do the laundry, work, get child care. And it’s very difficult to do. And when you add on top of that a child with a physical or mental handicap, that makes it even more difficult.
– I am your father.
[LIGHTSABERS CLASHING]
– I think the one thing that I have learned throughout this whole process that I would like people to understand is this. Special needs adoptions are so much of a blessing. And if I can do it, anybody can do it.
And so when people view Alaa and I, and they say to me, oh, it must be so difficult and so hard. You must work hard. My response is I’m the most blessed guy on the entire planet.
I enjoy each and every day I have with Alaa And the difficulties that I face as a single dad– as a dad of a physically handicapped child– the struggles that Alaa faces as a handicapped child and as a new American citizen are just part of a process. And when you when you look at that process and you tell yourself that you’re going to enjoy going through that process and you’re going to count your blessings and recognize how great it is to live here in the United States and all of the resources that we have, those difficulties kind of pale in comparison.
