Oh happy day! I cannot deny the sigh of relief I breathed when R’s birth mom signed the papers relinquishing her right to parent. Isn’t that something. A signature is how I became R’s mother. It felt like all was right with the world that afternoon. And it was- in my world.
Today is our adoption day. It is a day to acknowledge. Some call the day consent papers are signed a “Gotcha Day”. That doesn’t land right with us. We didn’t “get” R. “Gotcha” sounds like a game of tag- like we reached out and were desperate to grab a baby. To win a baby. Oh no-it is so much more than that.
On this adoption day or our Family Day, which is what we’ll be celebrating- there will always be space for R’s birth mother and space to celebrate all kinds of families. That’s what this day will be about for us. We’ll celebrate step families, generational parenting, traditional families, half siblings, adoptive families, same sex parents, single parents, birth families, foster families, friends as family, and so many others. We’ll celebrate and sing and laugh for all families…Always taking a moment, an hour, a song, a candle, a memory, a text, maybe one day a phone call or a visit- whatever we need to do (and what she needs as well) to hold R’s birth mom close and to express our love for her. She is part of us and a magnificent part of R.
And hey, if one day R decides he wants nothing more than to celebrate his “Gotcha Day” and call it such, I’ll make t-shirts, a “Gotcha Day” banner, a “Gotcha Day” signature cocktail. Hell, we’ll go bananas- because if I’ve learned one thing this year- it’s that R steers this ship. Happy Family Day to all! Celebrate! Xxx