In my Transracial Adoption ABCs, the letter "T" is also for time.

Time - While "time" may not seem like an adoption word at first, there are many aspects of adoption that involve time.

Finding the right time to start your adoption can be tricky. Some parents want to wait until their homegrown children are older before they adopt. Some parents want their children to be close in age. Some programs require a certain age spacing between children. Some programs have age requirements for adoptive parents.

Money can also make finding the right time to start your adoption difficult. Some prospective adoptive parents do not want to start their adoptions until they have the money saved to pay for it. Others find ways to borrow or raise the money needed. Personally, if we had waited until we could truly afford to adopt, we would still only have three children!

When you are starting your adoption, make sure you put time into researching your adoption options, in finding an ethical agency and in thinking about and preparing for racial issues involved in transracial adoption.

Once you start the adoption process, time becomes very important. The length of time your homestudy takes can be frustrating, if it drags out. In the "paper chasing" portion of your adoption process, things rarely go fast enough.

Once your paperwork is complete, then the waiting begins. Time can take on a whole new meaning when you are waiting for a referral, or waiting to get your child home.

Parents in the middle of an adoption often spend a whole lot of time on adoption blogs, email groups and adoption forums, connecting with other adoptive parents, researching all that they can and preparing as much as possible for their child's homecoming.

Once your child comes home, it is important to remember that attachment takes time. It will take time for your child to adjust to his new life. It will take time for your child to learn that you are now his parents. It will take time for him to trust that he is staying and he is safe. Love, trust and bonding take time.

One more aspect of adoption and time that I am going to hit on is that your child's needs will change over time. At some points in his life, he may not be interested in talking about his birth family or learning about his culture, but at other times in his life, these things may be very important.

So, there are lots of aspects of adoption that involve time. You will spend time making decisions, spend time doing research, spend time obsessing, spend time going crazy waiting, put in the time to build a healthy attachment with your child and pay attention to your child's changing needs over time.

Most importantly, I would say to remember to enjoy the little moments and cherish every day, because time has the nasty habit of going way too fast, especially when it comes to children.