Sleepover friends

      On Sunday morning I tried to wake up a strange boy for a bar mitzvah lesson.  I thought it was Yosef (12, adopted from Ethiopia at 10) since the boy was African or African-American and was sleeping in Yosef’s bed. It was early, and dark, the shades drawn, so I couldn’t be certain.  Several times I reached out, then hesitated. The boy’s Afro gave me pause, since Yosef’s hair was close-shaved the last time I checked.  I made a quick circuit of the many dens and bedrooms where children can be found on weekend mornings.  Daniel, 15, (adopted from Ethiopia at 13) was in his own bed; Sol, 16, (adopted from Ethiopia at 10) was in his own bed.  Camped out in Sol’s room were Austin, a white boy; Josiah, a Liberian boy; and Grace, from Congo.  Jesse (14, adopted from Bulgaria at 5) was in Lee’s bed and two of Jesse’s friends (two white, one African-American) slept on sofas nearby.  On the main floor of the house, I found Helen (13, adopted from Ethiopia at 5)  snuggled in a sleeping bag on a sofa, where she’d fallen asleep watching the movie, How To Lose A Guy in Ten Days. This gave me an important clue!  Upstairs, in Helen’s bed, I found Yosef!  I woke him up for his bar mitzvah lesson.   
      But whom had I disturbed downstairs? Later that day in the kitchen, I met Sammy, a Tigraynia-speaking boy from Eritrea, enjoying a bowl of Froot Loops.  
      “Did I try to wake you up for a bar mitzvah lesson this morning?” I asked him.
      "Yes ma’am,” he said softly. 
      "Sorry," I said.
      "That's okay, I did not mind," he said politely.