Asher's love of water

The first day I met Asher he was given a "bath" in the sink of his room in the institution. Its kind of like a farm sink at counter height. You can kind of see it here in this picture of Abel in the same institution. (At 10 years old Abel was still in diapers and this is the diaper changing station. A couple weeks home and he was out of diapers. )

When the children in Asher's group were given a "bath" they were made to stand in the sink while they were hosed off with the sprayer. I watched him desperately try to put his hands in the water only to have them swatted away, as if he was a naughty little boy for touching the water. My heart broke for him. He just wanted to touch the water. I had no idea how badly. 

For many adoptive parents getting custody of their child is synonymous with the "first bath". It means an opportunity to get rid of the institutional stench that emanates from the child's every pore. (It actually takes weeks to get rid of that smell.) For some newly adopted children this first bath is an extremely traumatic experience. Not only are they in a new environment , but they may have never experienced sitting in water before.  This is Asher's first bath. No trauma, but a big smile about half way through. So happy he can touch the water! (I would not normally post bath videos. You only see his back in this one, except for a few seconds. Originally this video was made so his dad at home could share in the first bath experience.) 

From that first bath until today Asher has been obsessed with water. I don't know if the word "obsessed" even comes close to describing his fascination. In the summer, if its nice outside I need only to turn the hose to a trickle and it will keep him busy for hours.  Sometimes with the hose he will put it right to his ear, letting that ice cold water shoot into his ear.