Always Adoption

Back in 2001, I had an amazing opportunity to volunteer for a month in a Romanian orphanage and children's hospital. At the time, Romania was moving towards getting the children out of orphanages and into foster care homes. I was responsible for training foster care families and orphanage staff on issues relative to occupational therapy such as feeding, sensory integration and childhood development. I also had time to spend time with the children and in some cases, provided occupational therapy services (there is no such thing as occupational therapy in Romania). The staff was amazing, and on the whole, more than willing to learn anything they could to improve the quality of life for these children. They truly cared about the children but there was only so much that they could do when only there eight hours a day.

I can remember spending time in the infant rooms. The children were often fed with their bottles propped on blankets. They missed out on the bonding and socialization that happens when one is fed by a caregiver. When holding the infants, it felt like they couldn't get comfortable in my arms, as if they didn't know how to snuggle. Never once did a baby fall asleep while I was holding or rocking them. They were so used to calming and putting themselves to sleep that they couldn't do it with another person's touch. The older children craved attention from adults, one as adorable as the next, yet they lacked play and social skills that children raised in a loving home have. Being in Romania was hard and leaving Romania was hard...how could I find the balance to leave an impact in a mere month and emotionally separate myself so as not to get too attached?

I returned home with the resolve to adopt one day. There are so many children in the world without a loving family to come home to, a bed to sleep in, toys to play with, and food to fill their bellies. My Romanian experience helped me to realize that adoption was how I wanted to become a mother. At the time, Steve and I were dating. He was more than supportive of me when I decided to go to Romania for a month. And when I returned, he considered and then shared in my desire of adoption being part of our way to have a family.

So for us it has always been adoption...it is our choice, our dream come true, our way of becoming the parents we have always wanted to be.