"I really hope the baby looks like your mother-in-law." My mom looked very concerned. I felt very confused.
What, Mom? You don't want my baby girl to look like me? She continued, "I just hate my nose. And I've been really worried that the baby will have my nose, and your MIL has such a pretty face."
I almost died, I was laughing so hard. Yes, laughing. Uncontrollably. It wasn't my mother's vanity that cracked me up (although it was quite laughable!). You see, I was adopted as an infant. What my mom was forgetting was that Potato wouldn't look like her, whether she wanted her to or not!
Until recently, I didn't realize just how perfect my adoption story is. It is truly a picture of what adoption should look like. My mom (not my second mom, my adoptive mom, or any other title...she raised me, she's my mom) has loved me so much for so long that she completely forgot that I was related by love, not by blood.
I have always known that I was adopted, and I believe with all of my heart and mind that this is the route any adoptive family should go. Before I was able to understand, my parents read Why Was I Adopted to me. It breaks down adoption to show children the love that covers them by so many. Get it. Read it to your kids (bio or not!). Help them understand.
My siblings are both biological to my parents. I'm the oldest, and if you are around adoptive families enough, you can probably guess what happened next... My mom found out that she was pregnant a few months after they picked me up from the adoption agency, as happens so often, and again a few years later. But matching DNA (or lack thereof) never mattered. We were all treated with the same love, support, and adoration that a parent shows his/her child. Although I don't look like my family- or any of the WHITE people we grew up around- it didn't matter (I look mixed, if you don't know me!). Everyone knew. No one cared.
After hearing about my mom's comment, my sister laughed, then looked pensive. "While I was driving the other day, I got excited for you. This will be the first time you will know someone who looks like you." She got it. And was excited. When I'm this wrapped in love, who cares about blood?
What, Mom? You don't want my baby girl to look like me? She continued, "I just hate my nose. And I've been really worried that the baby will have my nose, and your MIL has such a pretty face."
I almost died, I was laughing so hard. Yes, laughing. Uncontrollably. It wasn't my mother's vanity that cracked me up (although it was quite laughable!). You see, I was adopted as an infant. What my mom was forgetting was that Potato wouldn't look like her, whether she wanted her to or not!
Until recently, I didn't realize just how perfect my adoption story is. It is truly a picture of what adoption should look like. My mom (not my second mom, my adoptive mom, or any other title...she raised me, she's my mom) has loved me so much for so long that she completely forgot that I was related by love, not by blood.
I have always known that I was adopted, and I believe with all of my heart and mind that this is the route any adoptive family should go. Before I was able to understand, my parents read Why Was I Adopted to me. It breaks down adoption to show children the love that covers them by so many. Get it. Read it to your kids (bio or not!). Help them understand.
My siblings are both biological to my parents. I'm the oldest, and if you are around adoptive families enough, you can probably guess what happened next... My mom found out that she was pregnant a few months after they picked me up from the adoption agency, as happens so often, and again a few years later. But matching DNA (or lack thereof) never mattered. We were all treated with the same love, support, and adoration that a parent shows his/her child. Although I don't look like my family- or any of the WHITE people we grew up around- it didn't matter (I look mixed, if you don't know me!). Everyone knew. No one cared.
After hearing about my mom's comment, my sister laughed, then looked pensive. "While I was driving the other day, I got excited for you. This will be the first time you will know someone who looks like you." She got it. And was excited. When I'm this wrapped in love, who cares about blood?
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