The adoption conference

Yesterday Tyler and I had the chance to go to our first Families Supporting Adoption conference. It was an incredible day where we both got to learn some amazing things from people who are adoptive parents as well as birth parents. Going in to this adoption experience neither one of us had ever really stopped to consider all of the emotions that come into play. Yes we both realized things would get emotional and that there would be ups and downs through the whole process of adoption. It wasn’t until we got to hear the "whole story" during a panel discussion did we consider the emotions of everyone else involved. They had birthparents, a birth grandma, the adoptive couple and the adopted grandparents. The birthfathers family was there too, and although they weren’t on the panel they shared a few stories too. It humbled me to know that one child could be the center of so many people’s love. Every person on that panel wanted what was best for the child and that common goal they shared allowed them to develop relationships with one another. It obviously wasn’t easy for any of them to go through the adoption and share their personal story but I am grateful for the courage they showed by sharing their thoughts and feelings. The second panel was made up of birth mothers, and a birth father. Hearing what they had to say warmed our hearts and made us both believers that open adoption is a wonderful thing, for the child, for the birthparents and for the adoptive couple. We are both so glad we attended this conference, it helped ease some of the fears and apprehensions we have had about adoption. It makes us more excited for our profile to be published and for the moment when we can meet potential birth parents. It should be published within a week or so! J We hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!