NO! I’m not talking about my baby-to-be, silly.  Although, if I were planning an adoption for my unborn child, I certainly wouldn’t think twice about choosing this forever family for my child.  I know that he or she would be loved endlessly. 

And Jody, if you’re reading this, don’t even think about asking me to give you my baby!  I know you think Theo’s cute and all, and you can’t have him either.  (Althooooough, if I find myself in this predicament AGAIN a year from now…kidding!)

Seriously, my friends Jody and Angie are hoping to adopt a baby and want to invite the birth parents to be a part of their child’s life – what a wonderful gift from both sides.  I can’t imagine any greater sacrifice or act of love than carrying a child in your womb for nine months and then placing him or her with another family because you know deep in your heart of hearts that you just can’t provide that child with all the things that every child deserves.  On the flip side, I believe that adoptive parents should absolutely allow and encourage their child to maintain a relationship with their biological family so that there are no feelings of abandonment.  From day one, the child is exposed to the reason why the parents chose adoption.  I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Jody and Angie are amazing.  They are like super hero aunts to their niece and nephews.  They bought a minivan to haul their niece and nephews around, for crying out loud!  Do YOU know any aunts or uncles that have done this?  That’s dedication!  Both of these ladies are compassionate and work in a field of service where they give of themselves day in and day out to improve the lives of people with disabilities.  And they have both done this for YEARS.  Because they care.  Because they want to make lives better.  I know that is what they will do for the baby that they ulitmately adopt. 

A lot of the time that I would normally spend thinking about my blog or writing my blog has been spent reading someone else’s blog lately.  It’s like a book that I literally cannot put down, or turn off, as the case may be. 

It’s the story of a girl who lost her mother and her older brother in 9/11.  Her grandmother died shortly thereafter.  She doesn’t have a father, just two younger sisters.  She was 9, the middle girl must have been about 6 or 7 and the youngest was just 3 when 9/11 tore their family apart. 

The worst of it is that the three girls were placed with their awful Aunt Elaine, who hates them, calls Sam a whore, and blames them for taking up space and making noise in her home.  She makes them sleep on mattresses on the floor of a tiny bedroom.  She doesn’t mother them in any way.  She leaves Sam, the blog author, the responsible party to discipline and nurture the younger two girls.  As if losing your mother isn’t bad enough, Sam had to become a mother at age 9.  She shops for (and by shops for, I mean pays for) their groceries, cooks their meals, takes them to the doctor, grounds them, and loves them like a mother and a best friend.  On top of all this, Sam has to cook for and clean up after mean old Aunt Elaine.  It’s unbelievable.  I just had to share this blog with you. 

Sam is funny, smart, wise beyond her years, surprisingly honest, not to mention a very compelling writer with a style all her own.  Wow.  My sister told me about this blog and I haven’t been able to rip myself away from it ever since. 

If you are a lover of blogs, true stories, heartbreak and triumph, or just like being nosy, I suggest you read this blog from the beginning.  Here’s the link to the very first entry.  Or you can start here with the most recent post (though I strongly suggest you start from the beginning).

It got my sister and I talking about what we would want for our children if they were left parentless.  We both agreed that we would want them to be wherever they are loved and hugged and kissed every day, regardless of whether that means they are poor or certain other things have to be compromised.  Above everything else, love is the most important.  I can’t imagine having to grow up without it.  But back to Sam – I don’t feel sorry for her because after reading her blog, I don’t think she would want me to.  She’s strong and stubborn and an absolutely amazing young woman.  I hope you’ll check out her story. 

 ~C~