Schooling....

I went to work with a purpose today, to purchase my first book on parenting after work, the one that the pediatrician recommended. It was a busy ride home, lots of people driving fast, passing, tailgating and all the usual commotion that comes along with a commute. The speed of which life moves on the road is the opposite of that in a bookstore. The Borders that I went into near home is like any other chain bookstore. Stepping into the store, you feel a sense of calmness and serenity, like looking out to the ocean. The smell of the bookstore was distinct, and the music playing was a singer/songrwriter style. The people in the store looked like they were walking in slow motion up and down the aisles taking it all in.

That's why I was looking forward to my trip to the bookstore, to take it all in. Just like the car seat, buying a book on parenting is a connection to our story. As I did a quick glance around the store I found the "Parenting" Section. It was an aisle of five high bookshelves, hundreds of colorful books. The first two tall bookshelves were full of pregnancy guides, there was actually a whole section on "What to Expect"...there were books on breastfeeding, books on labor, there must have been a total of two hundred books. Then I began to search through the usual parenting books, guides on infancy, help with the sensitive baby, how to have a happy baby....you name it they were all there. Then we got to the books on dads and grandparents section, and how to deal with a teenage girl..."Dummie Guides" on everything you can think of...Oh and Chicken Soup for the Soul for almost every topic...almost.

At the very bottom right hand corner of the last bookshelf was a little tag that said "Adoption"....Above that tag were two books..."Guide on Adoption"...and "Twenty Things Adoptive Kids Wish their Parents Knew". So I began to think about what this meant to me as I looked at the barren single shelf. I began to feel that the word isn't out, that this unique story has a purpose. There are families out there like us, that have a beautiful beginning through adoption, it's our "What to Expect". It's a story that is centered around love. I believe that a child who is raised through adoption has a life of love planned from their beginning. The love for our child that has grown in our hearts as parents. The love for our child that their birth-mother will give to them, by the life that she wants for him or her. And the love that those around us have that get to bear witness to this amazing journey. So this love, that so many adoptive parents, birth-parents, friends and family get to experience is the what needs to be told.

Remember the woman who worked in the baby store, and the owner of the furniture store....they too thought I was pregnant. They did not consider adoption at first. Walking out of the bookstore today made me realize that adoption is a beautiful journey that can be shared...instead of keeping it in the bottom right hand corner shelf of the Parenting section. So I ask everyone that is reading this entry to send this blog to someone you know, so that just maybe some of the busy people driving on the road today will slow down and read....


Follow by clicking "FOLLOW" sign up with gmail; yahoo; or twitter. If no account simply create "Create a new Google Account" Takes two minutes