e-mail
(Please remember that this is just a piece of my definition of adoption. For my full definition of what adoption is, you can read this whole series of posts here.)
With National Adoption month wrapping up tomorrow, the last day of November, I am also wrapping up my definition of adoption. I have this post and then one more to complete my definition of adoption, and then tomorrow I will share some of my favorite definitions of adoption by readers who left comments for the giveaway, and I will also announce the winner.
For this post, I am going to say that adoption is beautiful.
One of the things that we hear the most (probably second only to “You have your hands full!”) is that our family is beautiful. We hear it from strangers all the time as they pass by. Some people go out of their way to tell us that they think our family is beautiful. People leave comments on my family blog and tell me my family is beautiful. We hear it a lot.
As nice as it would be to think that we are being told this all of the time because we just happen to be incredibly, unbelievably, abnormally beautiful people, I know better (I do own a mirror). I know that if it was just Josh and I walking around with our biological sons (who are super good looking kids by the way) that we would not be getting all of the “beautiful” comments.
We get the comments because a lot of people realize that transracial adoption is beautiful.
People are not commenting on our individual looks, but they are commenting on the beauty of our family all together. I feel the same way when I look at pictures of other transracial adoptive families. There is something beautiful about parents and children together, who may not “match” by skin color and looks as most people expect a family to “match”, and yet at the same time just by looking at them, you know that they are a family.
There is something beautiful about being able to see that people are a family, not because they look the same, but because they are clearly bonded by love.
I think it’s beautiful to see Belane sitting on Nate’s shoulders.
I think it’s beautiful to watch Mercy cornrow Maggie’s hair (even if her Asian hair is so slippery it will only stay in for a few short minutes).
I think it’s beautiful to watch Shane and Ben do just about everything together, as best friends and brothers.
I think it’s beautiful to watch Des and Amanda lay on the floor together playing dolls.
I think it’s beautiful to watch Ryan letting Marcus “help” him with his Legos.
I love watching my kids together.
It doesn’t matter to them that they were born in different places and in different cultures and that they don’t share physical characteristics. They are brothers and sisters. They accept each other, they claim each other and they love each other.
And that is a beautiful thing.
*** Time is running out!! Today is your last day to participate in the giveaway. I will be announcing the winner tomorrow. If you have not yet participated, make sure you visit this post and enter the fun giveaway for National Adoption Month thanks to Curls.
