Adoption: A Piece of My Passion

It’s very easy for me to talk to people most of the time.  I can talk about anything.  (Probably why I married a realllly great listener.)  It’s a gift I happily attribute to my mother, though she is on a whole other level.  She has this sweet southern charm and genuine love for people that could completely disarm anyone.  (Seriously, side story- we were in NC for my brother’s wedding and a bunch of extended family was staying in the same hotel.  Well….my mom gets to talking with the staff at the front desk.  In five minutes she found out [don’t ask how] that not all of the extended family had hotel rooms on the same floor.  In ten minutes (without so much as the same last name as some of these relatives) she had the staff rearrange the room reservations so we were all on the same floor.  Ten minutes- no proof- no signatures- no questions asked.  If she had a criminal mind to go with that southern charm who knows what damage she could do.  I’m not that good.)

Anyway, I like to blog much the same way I like to talk with people.  I prefer to be open and honest about what I’m thinking, and I’d rather air on the side of giving too much information than to feel like I am not being myself. I don’t blog consistently because I tend to write when sparked to do so by a controversial article,  an ink-inspiring motherhood moment, or a blip of excitement after meeting someone with an infectious enthusiasm for life.  

What I’m not used to is feeling uncomfortable sharing what is most on my mind, or that I have to hold anything back.  But that is where I’ve been lately.

Our family recently became licensed for a foster-to-adopt program in our state.  Adoption has always been a huge passion of mine, before I ever had kids of my own.  We’ve been all over the board with whether to try international or domestic, private or state adoption.  I don’t think there is a right way to go- but state adoption is where we felt peace.  It is a journey that started years ago, and even though I’ve talked about this probably non-stop with my closest friends (who can ignore this post and roll their eyes at me later), I’m only just now feeling that it is real enough to share online.

Yet it is one of my true less-to-be-more callings, and I believe we all have one (or two or three…)  One of the few things that I’d really regret not doing in life.

I don’t know how much of our unfolding story I’ll be able to share online; I understand that with this type of adoption there is a lot of information that we can’t share publicly before the adoption is finalized, and some things that we simply won’t share to protect a potential child’s privacy.  But I have been encouraged to find that the more I talk with people about our journey, the more people seem interested in the process themselves.  I feel incredibly blessed and fortunate to be literally surrounded by people (from our church, community, etc.) who have adopted and have encouraged and supported us along the way.

So even though I feel like I’m bursting at the seams-knowing so much information and nothing at the same time- like I don’t know what this process holds- and that I might not be able to share as much of our story as I want- I’m putting it out there in case we can be an encouragement or resource to anyone else!  And because, frankly, it is a huge piece of our story and I can’t help sharing my excitement.

(Thanks for listening.)