Adoption has changed my life in more ways than just one. Yes, we became a family of three and I could not be happier about that. But we also gained another family as we have a very close and open relationship with our son’s birth mom and her family. I also didn’t know how much adoption would change me as a person. Maybe it was simply becoming a mom, but I have found a complete love and passion for educating people about adoption and sharing our story. I have such a passion for it that we even started a blog about our open adoption experience. And the great thing about it is our son’s birth mom also contributes to the blog! What a better way to advocate for adoption? Here are some other ideas on how to share how adoption has impacted you or your family!
5. Educate yourself and others. We have 12 adopted children in our extended family, so I naturally thought I knew a lot about the adoption process. I will be the first to admit, I knew very little. I would like to think I know a little bit more now, having waited almost six years to adopt our son and now writing and blogging about our open adoption process. However, that does not make me an expert. I am constantly trying to research and educate myself on the adoption process, raising an adopted child, and how to share our story with others. It is no secret that we have an adopted child. We talk to anyone who will listen to us about it. This means a lot of people have reached out to us to talk to us about the process. I absolutely love being able to share our story with them and explain the adoption process the best I can for them.
4. Contact your local legislation. For the most part, adoption laws are not uniform across the United States. Most states have their own set of laws governing the adoption process. If you feel strongly that your state needs to change those laws, contact your local legislation and tell them why you feel that way. Was the termination period way too long (in your opinion)? Were there things that you felt were unjust? Make sure to be a positive voice for adoption. Advocate for what you feel is right and just. There is also a lot of talk about the adoption tax credit. Will this stay or will it go away? Make sure to talk to your legislation about how they feel about the tax credit. This was a huge benefit for us after we adopted our son, and I couldn’t imagine it going away.
3. Become part of a local organization. We do not have too many organizations in our rural community that advocate for adoption, but if we did, I would be a part of it. If at some point in my life I feel I have the time and the capacity to start one, I will. We have gone back to our adoption agency and spoke to other potential adoptive families in the past. We also have been part of church groups that advocate for adoptive or foster families. These are great ways to be active in the adoptive community. If you are part of a group already, make sure to invite others to join the group.
2. Give back. We try to teach our son as much as we can about giving back to the community and the less fortunate. In the same way, you, too, can give back to your local adoption agencies, community outreach programs, and the like. Donate clothes, blankets, toys, etc., to local community organizations that support the adoption mission. One national organization I just love is Jockey. We received a backpack full of merchandise from Jockey when we adopted our son, and I love that they are such big supporters of adoption.
1. Share your story. If I had the opportunity, I would share our adoption story with anyone who would listen. I would shout it from the top of any mountaintop for the whole world to hear. That is exactly why I started a blog about our open adoption with our son’s birth mom. That is also why I started writing these articles. I don’t ever want to stop talking about adoption and the gift that it brought to our whole family.
How will you share how adoption has impacted your life?
