Our name is the same, we are very similar in age, and each of us is a type of mother to my youngest child. I’ve never met the woman who I share these few things with. I doubt I ever will.
On a morning when said child thought it was still cool to cuddle with Mom, these were the thoughts in my head. As I snuggled my nose into her soft brown hair I thought of her birth mother. Who knows the reason this woman came to mind, perhaps because she plays such a large role in our lives, yet she is absent.
When I look at the child she carried for nine months I feel many emotions on any given day. But today the emotion is one of thanks. Thankful that this woman chose life. She chose to give birth, which in turn created a chain of events.
A man became a father for the first time.
A couple ready to close the door on growing their family was able to move forward.
Sisters received a sibling.
Extended family received a granddaughter, niece, and cousin.
God received another child through baptism.
A dog received a little girl to play with.
Teachers another student.
Friends an additional playmate.
A piano new fingers to play upon it.
Chickens a caretaker.
Wild Kratts, Paw Patrol, Legos, yet another big fan.
And this is only in the first eight years of her life, who knows what lies ahead!
I respect the birth mother even though we have never spoke. She deserves it, no matter what other choices she has made in her life.
I’m sure she thinks of our little girl. The little girl who now I call daughter. The little girl who if you didn’t know she was adopted, you probably would never guess was.
Her dark brown hair resembles her adoptive mom’s and her eyes are dark brown, like her adoptive Grandpa’s. Her quieter and calmer demeanor reminds one of her adoptive father, while her long fingers resemble none of us.
No matter what the reasons were for her to be adopted, life is happening as we speak. A life that with her own choices will bring it’s own chain of events. The good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. She brings much to our lives and we couldn’t imagine life without her.
Not all adoption situations are easy, good, or even doable. Adoption can be hard and fabulous all at the same time. It can bring you to your knees and it can build you up to the highest mountaintop! No two adoption stories is alike. They may be similar but never alike. My hope is that people will not give up on choosing life or adopting.
On this day, when I snuggled the soon to be eight year old even closer and kissed her head I made sure to whisper to her how very happy I am to be her Mommy. Then I silently said a word of thanks to the other woman, the one that gave birth to her.
Grace is a gift,
Julie
*NOTE: Not all adoption situations are easy, good, or even doable. Adoption can be hard and fabulous all at the same time. It can bring you to your knees and it can build you up to the highest mountaintop! No two adoption stories is alike. They may be similar but never alike. My hope is that people will not give up on choosing life or adopting.
Read more by clicking the link below.
Adoption Series – In Between the Sunsets of Life & Pushing Forward with Grace
In Between the Sunsets of Life 