Jen over at Steenky Bee and I are both adoptive parents. I forget how she found out that I was. She stalks people you know...it could have been through any number of sources. After she did though, we thought it would be nice to do a dual post with the theme of how we are (or in my case, will) talk to our children about adoption. Here's mine. Stop over at Steenky Bee after and Jen will show you hers.
Our son is just turned six last month. My wife and I adopted our son from Korea. He arrived when he was six months old. He knows he was born in Korea and he's faced the inevitable, "Where are you from?" question numerous times. (He answers with his hometown -- we've taught him well.) My Wife and I haven't made his adoption an issue yet since we know it will come up in due time. We don't know how it will come up or how much he will want to know. Nothing is a secret though, it's just how it is. We're a family; he's our son. The deeper questions will come though so I just thought I'd answer a few now.
"Why wasn't I born in your tummy mommy?" You had an extra special birth. Even though you were born in Korea, we carried you in our hearts from half a world away. You grew in your birth mommy's tummy and we love her for that.
"Why did my birth mommy give me away?" She wanted the best for you. She felt like she couldn't give it to you because of her circumstances -- the way things were in her life -- but she knew we were here to take perfect care of you.
"How did I get here?" You came by airplane. You had an escort who had the most important job in the world -- bringing our family together. You looked so tiny when you came down the ramp in the stroller. You just looked around while the people getting off the plane congratulated us. They said you were very good on the plane and didn't cry at all. I was scared and nervous as your escort placed you in my arms for the first time. You weren't though. You were calm and peaceful. You knew you were home.
It's amazing how much I would like to tell you now...about how we stared and stared at the pictures that your foster mother sent us until we had them memorized...about how the wait was so hard -- even though it was a mere nine months...about how, after so long trying to conceive, we finally were able to make our family whole. You're only six right now though and you're more concerned if we have any red popsicles left or whether you can go ride your bike with your friends on the block.
No matter what happens or what questions you have or when you start to be curious, we'll be there for you. We found each other across continents and our family was made whole. You were born in our hearts and will always remain there. Let the questions come
.
