Forever Family

I promise to keep it short tonight.  Remember when I said I was long winded?  Yeah, well…what can ya do. 

I set this blog up to share our experience as foster/adoptive parents.  I intend to relay parts of our story, in the hope of opening a few eyes and perhaps getting some people thinking that maybe they want to open their hearts and homes to these great kids.  

That being said, I want to pepper the nitty-gritty retelling of our process with some fun stories about out family (hence the random blog about music yesterday).  I think it’s extremely important to point out that our family is completely normal, and behaves no differently than a family with biological kids.  In a lot of ways, you could argue that we are better equipped and prepared to be parents than some people who have bio children.  Our process was long, deliberate, and required a lot of thought and introspect.  No accidents here.

We also are much more aware of our kiddo’s emotional well being, and we put great deals of effort into promoting a healthy mind and body.  We didn’t have that intial biological “chemical” bond.  We had to work at establishing a relationship with our child.  Even though he was only 4 months old, think of the trauma he had already been through.  

I actually looked forward to nighttime feedings.  I wanted opportunities to prove myself to this new baby that I may not have been there when he came into the world, but I sure as hell am here for him now.  I remember the first time he was sick, and tenderly caring for him and doing whatever I could to help him feel better.  We snuggle ALL the time.  We even have very loose rules about bedtime.  Kiddo sleeps in his own room the majority of nights, but if we feel like snuggling in bed together and he falls asleep in my arms, we’re ok with that.  I know, I know…Super Nanny is likely to show up at my door, wag her finger at me, and call me a bad parent.  But it’s moments like these where we get to just enjoy each other.

I’m also a little obsessive about things we bond on.  This is why music is such a big deal to me, because we enjoy it together.  In my husband’s case, they both share a fondness for cars, and Kiddo loves to hang out with Daddy while fixing the cars.  He’ll talk Hubby’s ear off about cars all day long.  

Sometimes I kinda think of it as what it must be like raising a teenager (I’ve never raised one, so can’t say for sure, but I’ve been one and this is what it was like).  A teen is seeking out his/her own voice, seeking inpendence, and developing their own personalities.  It’s a parent’s responsibility to encourage this growth, but maintain a bond and parent/child relationship.  I sometimes feel like we inherited this little teen, and we journey together discovering things about each other that we can form a relationship on.  

Alright, so I’m starting to ramble again, but look forward to more stories about the goofy things we do as a family.  The goal is to demonstrate that our beginnings may have been a little unique, but the outcome is the same, and we have one fantastic kid.  

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