Adoption: The First Chapter of Many

I’m really not fond of that analogy about people’s lives being like a book. Unfortunately, it was the first thing I thought about when I decided to write this post.

In a previous post, I wrote about accepting the title of “mom.” I wanted to continue that theme, beginning with my past desire to “overshare.” Mostly, I’m very private, but when it came to talking about my kids, I had this urge just to yell out, “they’re adopted.” I refrained because I strongly believe that the adoption is their story to share, not mine. I think I felt the desire to share that information, not because I’m insensitive, or attention-seeking, but because it seemed like the only thing that defined our family for so long.

Naturally, adoption will always be part of our family, but lately I’ve begun to feel that our legal ties are no longer the only thing holding us together. Now, we have a relationship, a bond, one that doesn’t make their adoption the most important thing in our lives. Adoption was the first chapter in our book, and I’m sure it will continue to show up in other chapters, but it’s not the subject of the book, and it’s not the last chapter.