August 18, 2017
Adoption and Parenting Reads of the Week
Hello there!
Happy Friday!
We hope you’ve had wonderful week, and that something fabulous is in store for the weekend ahead. As always, we open the weekend by sharing our favorite adoption and parenting reads of the week. Spreading information, love, and good stories.
Enjoy, and we’ll see you Monday 🙂
What does love look like through the eyes of an adoptee? “I’m not going to pretend that my adoption and reunion experience has suddenly, magically, made me understand everything there is to know about love. I won’t even say it’s made me willing to be vulnerable at all times in all places so I can embrace love more freely. I am still who I am — thanks to genetics and experiences — and I remain somewhat reserved and protective of myself. But, I do understand that love can be wonderful and messy, amazing and frightening, awesome and intimidating. And that’s a part of what I’ve learned as an adoptee.”
Why labeling feelings with our children is so important.
We’ve written about talking adoption with your child’s teachers before, but here’s more excellent writing about that conversation from Kristen Howerton. She focuses specifically on guiding teachers through her children who have attachment and emotional issues.
We love this podcast episode from Confessions of an Adoptive Parent about lessons learned from a traumatic past.
Excellent relaxation tips for dealing with stress…perfect for when you’re going through the adoption process!
How do you advocate for your child when no one is listening? “Have you ever stopped to consider what successful advocacy is…and what it isn’t? Fact is, we live in a very socialized, public, short-fused world. Advocacy has taken on many different forms- some good, some bad, over the past few years, in particular. But when it comes to our kiddos, and advocating for them to professionals, there are some things you must do, and some things you need to pay closer attention to.”
This adoptee talks poignantly and honestly about the darker side to adoption. Before she found a family, she says, she had to lose one. “I know you by your less popular name and function: abandonment. Before I gained a family, I had to lose one. You handed me one identity while you hid the other, like a city built atop ruins. You’ve taken just as much as you’ve given. You hold all of the secrets to my most fundamental questions. Do I have siblings? On what day was I really born? What is my medical history? The average person from the average family does not have to wonder such things. These are all core pieces of a person’s identity that most take for granted, yet were robbed from me.”