ADOPTION STORIES : The Wait Was Worth Every Second

On May 19, 2017 - I got to cross off the biggest "to do" item on my bucket list - Adopt! You see - I was adopted and it had always been my dream in life to adopt a child and provide them with the love and support that my adoptive family gave to me. I had known since a small girl that I wanted to adopt - fortunately, when I met my husband he was instantly on board with the idea.  After we got married in 2008, we registered with Social Development to start the process. We didn't see much progress until 2015 when I gave our Social Worker a call and this is where our ball started rolling!

By November of 2015 we were enrolled in P.R.I.D.E - followed by our Home Assessments in 2016. We knew that there was still a few more years to go (as they originally told us 9 years) so we weren't expecting anything right away and didn't mind the pace at which things were moving.

As 2017 approached we had to renew our paperwork for the file and have a second home assessment done. Then Friday, May 12, we got a call from a social worker named Sherrill; she was letting us know that our file year had been opened and wanted to update our information. Our previous worker who had done our home inspection had transferred to another position and we just figured it was protocol. Neither my husband or myself thought anything into this as our criteria was for a child under 2 with no major health concerns so we expected the wait to continue.

Then on Tuesday May 16, we got the call that would change our lives! It was around 2:30 in the afternoon when Sherrill called - I don't remember much of the conversation to be honest except for the words "we have a child that we believe would be a good fit for your home" - instantly I felt a rush of emotions - excitement, fear, and even a little bit of disbelief. Then came the news - it was an infant. He had been born just a week prior, there were a few health concerns but I knew that this was it. I instantly told her yes - despite my husband not being home. She laughed and told me to take the night and discuss it with him and let her know the next morning. Of course - as suspected he was just as excited and ready for this opportunity as me.... the next 72 hours were a blur of shopping and organizing and finally on Friday, May 19 - we got to meet our little man!

He was perfect and already a ladies' man. The moment we met him was full of emotions - I was very nervous and I had some cold feet but when I held him in my arms, my heart busted with Joy. We were required to spend the night in the hospital with him as a "bonding time" and the nurses and doctors treated us as if I had just given birth to him - we were shown how to properly feed him, how to bathe him, and given a car seat workshop. I remember thinking to myself that I had no idea what I was doing at times but that feeling quickly disappeared as I realized, we'd learn together! Over the next few weeks my husband and I built a connection with him very quickly; having kept most of our friends/family in the dark - we had a great time surprising them all with our newest addition. The outpouring of support from family, friends and even the community was unexplainable. It can't be put into words knowing that he was going to be loved by not just us - but all these other people who meant so much to us.

Our wait may have been 9 years long - but it was worth every second! Our little man has changed our lives in the most positive way ever - he made us a family!