The funny thing about adoption is that a series of small decisions made along the way determine the outcome, which child becomes yours. Your choice for the agency and birth country and the timing of the paperwork. It truly is a miracle that it all works out.
I had thought about adoption for years. At 30 I started saving some money, but I wasn’t ready. At 33, I sent away for some pamphlets and information, but wasn’t ready. At 35, my motherhood clock was ticking and I was ready! The relationship I had been in ended and I didn’t feel like dating anymore. I wanted a child. I knew I didn’t physically have to have a child for me to be a mom. I decided to start researching. My friend Lee went with me to my first adoption meeting at an agency. I advise bringing a friend if you are doing this on your own. Always good to have the support. I had been thinking about adopting from China and this particular agency had a good program with them. The only issue was that China had put quotas on single mothers, and this agency had met their quota already for the next year. I had more thinking and researching to do.
There was so much information out there! A friend recommended I attend an adoption seminar sponsored by Resolve to help me sift through the ocean of info. Resolve is an organization that provides support for individuals and families with fertility issues. As part of their support, they offer information about adoption as a viable option. They had various seminars that day, March 23, 2002: a speaker from the Adoption Resource Center, a speaker from a support group called After You Adopt, a panel of adoptees talking about their lives and different situations. It was all wonderful. I was so inspired I wanted to adopt a houseful of kids! It truly was one of the best days of my life. My adoption journey was about to begin.
The next step was to select an adoption agency. There were several at the conference that seemed good. Also, a friend at work recommended I talk with someone he knew at Cigna who had adopted. I interviewed her and received some great feedback regarding Thursday’s Child, an agency located near by.
I ended up selecting Thursday’s Child because they were small and personal, yet had years of experience. Also, Iris (agency director) responded quickly with lots of detail to any of my questions via email. Thursday’s Child is now closed, but other agencies I did consider and that are still operating are Wide Horizons and Rainbow Adoptions.
I selected Guatemala because they had a good, stable program with DNA testing between the birth mother and child. I could bring home a baby in a relatively short time. The process from the time of referral would take 4 to 8 months. I liked the idea of having the Latin America connection. It didn’t hurt that Guatemala was only 2 ½ hours from Miami. I was still afraid of flying. I never was quite sure how I would have flown to China if I had selected that country. I would have to be in Guatemala for 3 or 4 days to pick up the baby and I only had to go once. Many countries required two trips and longer visits before the adoption could be final. The Guatemala program seemed perfect for me.
Note – as you will see, the process took longer than expected and I did travel to Guatemala twice, once to meet and visit my baby. I was a crazy process! Sometimes still today, I can’t believe I did it. God was definitely guiding my journey.
Next entry…Finding the ability to finish the application!
Finding Abilities 