March 18, 2015

Adoption News Roundup

Here are some of the captivating, informative and just plain fun articles that caught our eye this week:

“Blood doesn’t mean family.” We love this young woman’s story about what her life is like having come to the US through international adoption. She pens this thoughtful article even after having met her birth family.

Okay, so not exactly adoption-related, but very kid-related! Does anyone else get tired of loading their children up with sugar in the name of Easter? Because we certainly do. So how do you keep the gift-giving part and diminish the candy overload? This amazing roundup has 85 different ideas for non-candy related Easter basket treats. Bookmarks, bath bombs, glow in the dark stars…what fun ideas!

This is so exciting. Behold, the first museum ever to feature the artifacts of foster children. “Rather than memorializing the works of European Old Masters, the Foster Youth Museum specifically displays objects from living situations that offer little stability for youths and even fewer mementos, to raise awareness of an issue that often goes unremarked. The objects are “a testament to the resilience of foster youth and how far they’ve come,” says Jeanie Yoon, co-director of the museum who majored in sociology at UC Berkeley. With 50 artifacts, art and videos from former foster youth, it’s the largest collection of its kind.” Road trip anyone?

So striking. 54 photos of motherhood from the around the world. It’s hard to remember sometimes that we all speak a global language. Love, family, compassion, parenting…these speak volumes and are rooted in the same fundamental emotions no matter where you live, or how you’re brought up. To see it come to life in this series is so deeply beautiful.

Fear in adoption. Not only is it common, it’s entirely natural. This woman writes all about it. “You fear all the unknowns of adoption. You fear you won’t find your way through the mounds of paperwork. You fear you will not “pass” your home study. You fear your profile or “Dear Birthmother” letter is not good enough. You fear you will never get chosen. You fear you will never be a parent.”

Waiting to adopt? Thank you, America Adopts! for these 217 options for keeping you occupied in the meantime. Relive your first date? Start a YouTube channel? Learn to knit? Some seem ridiculous, others are perfectly simple. All show you that life is still meant to be lived, and it’s okay to challenge, grow and be yourself in the meantime.