She Sleeps



"Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names.  They are easier to ignore before you see their faces.  It's easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms.  But once you do, everything changes."  David Platt

 

November is Orphan Awareness month, and yesterday was Orphan Sunday.  I'm not a very political person, but I do feel strongly about promoting adoption.  I'm not a poster child for adoption and I won't bring it up until someone else does first, but I'm happy to talk about it.  I look at this beautiful, sleeping child and I still can't believe she's mine.  Two years later, I marvel daily at the fact that I get to be her mom. 

But I'm a realist.  I didn't "save" her.  She was a beautiful little girl with VSD on the shared list.  She would've been snapped up 10 seconds later off that list if we weren't lucky enough to have gotten her file locked first.  She would have gotten her family no matter what.  So when people say, "Oh, she's so lucky,"  I always smile and say thank you, but really I'm thinking that we are the lucky ones.  She's changed our lives.  She's made us better parents.  She's taught patience and the ability to love fiercly to my other two children.

Life dealt her a crappy hand in the beginning, and we're still working through the ramifications of that.  We probably always will.  But I didn't look to adoption to "save" anyone.  I wanted to adopt.  Period.  End of story.  I've wanted to do it my whole life.

But what about the kids still waiting?  What about the ones that linger for months on the shared list?  What about the ones dangerously close to aging out? They need families, too.  Am I done?  Is my family complete?  Cara says, "I'm the baby.  No more babies!"  Some days I think we're done, and sometimes I think we're not.  My question is, is YOUR family complete?  Have YOU considered adoption?  Is there a little (or not-so-little) one waiting for YOU?

Think about it.  Adoption is the best thing our family ever did.  Is it right for you?