Networking

One of the coolest parts of all this waiting is the friends I've made. We talk to our caseworker about once a month; she sometimes asks us if she can show our profile to expectant mothers who have made an adoption plan.

I've been reading message boards on adoption.com and mothering.com and have met so many amazing people. On adoption.com, some of the birth mother stories made me cry. And made me think. It's one of the things that led to our decision to okay an open adoption.

Internet aside, however, I keep running into people who have adopted or are thinking about adopting. Everyone is at their own stage in the journey that is adoption; it does not end when a baby joins a family. Just the other night in McDonald's we talked to a mom who adopted a little girl from Ethiopia. And today a mom stopped me who has read my blog (I felt famous!) and asked how our adoption is going and told me briefly about her adoption.

The adoption journey is never an easy one and it draws those within it into a fraternal circle of shared understanding. We're still waiting, still "cautiously optimistic", but we're definitely a part of this circle. Adoption will be a part of our family forever.