Gypsy

Be honest. When you hear the word "Gypsy", what images come to mind? Women in long, flowing, colorful dresses? Women wearing head scarves and a lot of jewelry? Fortune tellers with a crystal ball? A nomadic people traveling in wagon caravans? Scam artists and thieves? Free spirited people? Perhaps a person that looks similar to this?

I'll be the first to admit these images are part of my preconceived notions about gypsies. I even remember an old song by Cher called Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves. I never had reason to believe anything else about these people known as gypsies.

This is not intended to be a history lesson, but Gypsies originated in India and over time migrated to Central and Eastern Europe. Bulgaria, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, Romania etc... The more accurate name for them is Romani people. I'm not going to get into the background of gypsies or try to debunk stereotypes. I will say that Gypsies, by and large, are considered outcasts and not favorably looked upon no matter where they live. They are social pariahs generally speaking. In Nazi Germany they were a targeted group for extermination. Mercilessly hunted by einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units). So I guess it's safe to say that Gypsies are not generally viewed as good citizens or those you would want as next door neighbors. Fair or not, that's the popular perception.

Why this seemingly random post about Gypsies? Simple. Our new granddaughter is a so-called Gypsy. What does this mean exactly? I'm not sure. More specifically I'm not sure it matters. To me it means she has Eastern European ancestry. Russian? Romanian? Bulgarian? It makes no difference to me. Jessi and Barry knew this from the onset of the adoption process. During the court hearing, the judge and prosecutor both asked extensive questions about whether they knew Sveta was a Gypsy. They seemed very concerned that Jessi and Barry were receiving some inferior reject of a child and wanted to be sure they knew what they were getting. The short answer is, yes, they know exactly what they are getting. A sweet, precious, angelic daughter who spent the first 4 years of her life in a Russian orphanage and also happens to have gypsy ancestry. I say, so what! None of this matters in the least. She's now an American. A full fledged member of the Meyer family. Welcome to the family, Sveta! Hurry home, your Goppa is waiting for you!