I read a blog post today discussing how different adoption
is from pregnancy. I cannot even
explain how accurate that is. Believe me
– I've been on the pregnancy path (although somewhat unconventional) and now I’m
on the adoption path. While
there may be similarities, things are tremendously different.
When you’re pregnant, it’s usually obvious. Everyone makes a big deal about it – even people
you don’t know. There’s classes to
prepare you for childbirth, there’s friends who share in your excitement, and
there’s a normal path that everything follows, from the number of months you
carry (again, unconventional for me) to at what point you find out the gender
and even to the process of the baby being born. Oh and let’s not
forget, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
When you’re on the adoption journey, there’s no big belly
for everyone (even strangers) to touch.
There’s no baby inside you to feel kick, turn somersaults, or get
hiccups. There’s no end in sight. You’re simply waiting. You feel alone – like none of your friends or
family truly understands the ups and downs you’re feeling, because, quite
frankly, most of them don’t. Some of them may even think adoption is the "easy" way - I mean, no labor pains, right? (I'm sure some of my adoption friends either groaned or laughed out loud at that one.)
However, there was one comment in the post that I didn't quite
believe was true for me – that no one was there to hold your hand and support you when you felt like it was never going to happen. While there are many people that have asked
how our journey is going and I believe do really care, there are a few people
that I feel holding me up – that are holding my hand through this process and
give me strength on those days where I wonder if it’s ever going to happen.
So to those people – specifically, my husband, my son (who
can cheer me up by just mentioning his brother or sister – or as he says
brother-sister), my best friend, and my parents – I want to say thank you. Thank you for being my hand to hold and my
support. I love you all!
Still waiting, hoping, and praying.
