What are some good ways to remember each moment spent with the child you placed for adoption? Considering that each adoption, and person, is different, here are a few ways to keep mementoes, or to document, an adoption visit.
1) Journal
I love to write. Writing releases me into a place of comfort. I particularly enjoy writing about how big my little guy has gotten over the last 6 years! These journals have helped me—during my darkest days when I forget—why I choose adoption. It’s easy to open the book and see, in my handwriting, the benefits over the years that open adoption has brought to my birth son.
Also in those times of happiness, I love looking back and remembering a silly thing he said, the cute way he hugged me, the adorable look in his eye when he took his first bite of cake. I would have forgotten about those moments if I hadn’t recorded them in writing.
2) Scrapbooking
From good-old-fashioned crafty scrapbooks to picture books to online photo albums, scrapbooking is a great way to have quick access to memories. This is a particular favorite of people who take pictures (and with a smart phone in every other hand, pictures are easier than ever to come by). As the old cliché goes, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” And what a heartwarming way to look at memories.
3) Collage
If a book isn’t your style, but you find yourself swimming in pictures, a collage is a great way to keep things in one place for a quick glance throughout your day. Having a bulletin board full of pictures that can be changed out as you, your child, and your relationship all age is a fun way to remember a recent visit. Over Halloween, I helped decorate some cupcakes. Naturally, we have about 25 pictures of the event, each one I claim is my favorite. Having a collage is a great way to display all 25 pictures, since I can’t seem to pick just one to display!
4) Keepsake
Do you have a cute picture frame? Or maybe you got crafty and painted pictures together? Perhaps it was a simple visit where all you did was pop in for your birth child’s birthday. Having a keepsake to not only look at, but to touch, can be powerful. A craft that was done together, a picture frame holding something special from the day, or maybe something silly—like a bow from a birthday gift that you teased your birth child with—something along those lines can just help keep the memory alive.
Jennifer Wise, a storybooking consultant with Heritage Makers, specializes in preserving photos, memories, and family stories. Write your child’s adoption story in a storybook–making it a keepsake for generations to come. She has a wonderful blogspot that can help you figure out how to get the best out of your photos.
5) Online sources (blogging, social media, clouds)
With the adoptive parents’ permission, using the internet to our advantage has never been easier! It can be a great and easy way to document a visit. It can include pictures or writing, and it’s a great way to share photos and have photos shared with you. Once something is on the internet, it’s always there. It can be accessed by phone, tablet, computer, and so many devices. It’s there as a source of comfort, as a bragging tool, as a way to have the documentation at your fingertips for a quick moment of remembrance.
