Today I have finally hit the dreaded letter "Z" in my Transracial Adoption ABCs. I have known it was coming since my very first post in this series, way back at the letter "A".

I have wondered what I would write about for the letter "Z", and how I could "close" this series, which has taken quite a bit of time and work. Many of you have made suggestions, which I have appreciated.

I considered making "Z" for "zoo", and talking about fun things to do with your family in the summer, and how important it is to spend fun time with your kids.

I thought about making "Z" for "zig zag" as someone suggested, and writing about how you "zig zag" through the adoption process, with all of the emotional ups and downs and all of the steps to the process.

For a while I planned on making "Z" for Zambia, and was going to write a post on some of the newer, lesser-known adoption options in Africa.

I also was planning on making "Z" for "ZZZZZZZZZZ" and was going to write some posts on sleep, but then I got to the letter "S" and wrote about sleep there instead.

Someone suggested that "Z" should be for "zonked", which is often how you feel when the adoption process is over. (I completely agree with that!!!)

And then the young and talented Sandra suggested I make letter "Z" for "Zeitgeist", which I can honestly say is not a word I had heard before (or at least I don't remember hearing it before).

So as any good Scrabble player would do, I looked it up. For those of you that don't know, (please say I am not the only one who didn't know this word) Zeitgeist means "the spirit of the times, and the taste and outlook characteristic of a generation."

So I started thinking about what the current Zeitgeist of the transracial adoption world is. I was struck by how much progress has been made in many areas, and yet how far we still have to go.

In some ways, things have changed a lot since the 1970s, when transracial adoption first started to become more common in the U.S.

There is a much greater feeling of acceptance of transracial families. We are still "different", we still stand out, we still draw a lot of attention when out in public, but, there are more and more of us all of the time, and it seems that just about everyone now knows someone who has adopted transracially.

Adoptive parents now know that they should strive to be "color aware" instead of "color blind". We now know the importance of trying to keep our children connected to their birth cultures and the importance culture can play in who a person is. Parents are receiving adoption education, and preparing themselves by learning about everything from attachment to racism.

Adoption is no longer something that is shameful, or something that is kept to be a big secret. In fact it has swung so far the other way that some people even see it as trendy. Children are now taught that adoption is a normal way to build a family and is not something to be ashamed of, and most parents are open and upfront about adoption, instead of trying to hide it.

Open adoption has become not only acceptable, but encouraged. While not very long ago "closed" adoptions were just the way of things, adoptive parents and birth parents are now often building life-long connections for their children.

Social workers who were 100% against transracial adoption are now realizing that transracial families can be very successful, and are often the best possible option for many children.

And there are waiting lists of parents wanting to adopt black babies domestically and internationally, when at one time, those babies were "undesirable" to most adoptive parents.

Of course, while transracial adoption has become much more socially acceptable and "normal", there are still those who are against it, and feel that a child is better off an orphan than with parents that don't "match". I will never understand that line of thinking.

Adoption has very much become a big business, and because of that, adoptive parents have had to learn the importance of researching their adoption choices carefully.

Overall, I think that the current "spirit of the times" of the transracial adoption world is a positive one, and one that is continuing to grow and change for the best of the children.

People are learning that love, stability, education, medical care, a home and a family are bigger needs in a child's life than merely being around people that look like they do, and at the same time we are learning how important it is for kids to be connected to their cultures and to people who look like they do, to help them build healthy racial self esteems.

Adoptive parents are aware of the pitfalls in transracial adoptive parenting and are working hard to avoid them. We know the dangers of unethical agencies and are making more educated choices. We believe in doing our part to give back to the places our children come from, and to help be a part of the solution to the calamities of the world that are creating all of the orphans in the first place. We are educated, dedicated and committed to parenting our transracially adopted children.

Transracial adoptive families have changed the way that a "normal" family can look. We show the world that love is deeper than skin color, and that there are much more important things to bind a family together than what we look like.

And now you can say that you know your (Transracial Adoption) ABCs. :)