Adoption {Waiting for the “right” one}

We first decided adoption was right for us when we were on our way home from what became our last appointment at a fertility clinic in downtown Minneapolis. With that decision, the dark cloud of infertility lifted and we were ready to move on to building our family through adoption.  It felt so good to make that decision!  Early on in our waiting period, after our letter went “into the book” for the first time, a teacher I was working with at that time stopped by my classroom to provide me with some words of encouragement.  He and his wife had adopted a few years earlier and he personally knew the angst we were experiencing while waiting for a baby.  That day he told me something that I will never forget.  You will get the child you are supposed to get.  That seems like such a simple statement, but the more I thought about it, the more I hoped that he was right.  I kept thinking about that statement – “You will get the child you are supposed to get” and in some way, it brought me some comfort.  In order to get our child, we were just going to have to wait until the timing was just right.

Summer 2011
Anthony making a wish for a sibling near Lake Superior, shortly before his 5th birthday.

Our wait for Anthony was just 6 months.  At the time, it did not feel like just six months, but considering we have been waiting for over 2.5 years now for #2, looking back, it now feels like just six months.  After we brought Anthony home, I thought again about what my teacher friend had said, “You will get the child you are supposed to get.”  Looking at the little 8-month-old we had welcomed in to our family, I knew he was right.  Over the last 5.5+ years, since we first brought Anthony home, it has been fun to watch him grow and change.  We see parts of each of us within his personality, even without a biological connection.  He has a spunky and silly personality, which is such a blend of the two of us.  He is definitely our son.

I cannot tell you how many times someone – friends, acquaintances, even total strangers - have told me how much my son looks like me.  Many say it’s more than our dark hair.  Usually they comment on our eyes.  I really don’t see it, but he definitely feels like a part of me!  He is my son.



I love how Anthony has picked up so much of our personalities. It has been a little joke in our family that after Anthony has done or said something great, one of us might say, “He gets that from me.” 

My teacher friend was definitely right, we just had to wait, and the child that would join our family would be the right match for us. 



Anthony, I sure hope the right sibling comes along soon for you.  We love you!