My Old House
Submitted by: Anonymous

Hello, so you wanted to talk about your adoption today?
Yes

Are you ok with sharing your story?
Yes, I want to.

Can you tell everyone how old you are?
I'm 11.

Do you remember how old you were when you were adopted?
At least 4.

After you lived with your first parents, who did you live with and how long did you stay?
I lived with my foster family for at least 3 or 4 years.

Do you still think about your foster family?
Yes, I just went to visit them this summer. Sometimes, I like to go visit my family.

And what do you think about being adopted?
Me, I think leaving my old house is sad, because we are going to miss our old house and if we think about it, it makes us more sad. Like me, even now, I'm 11, and I'm still sad when I think about my first parents.

Do you think about your first parents often?
Yes, and every time I think about them, I start to cry. Maybe when I'm 14, I can visit them.

So what do you do when you are sad about them?
I go to my room to cry.

Is there someone you can talk to about being sad?
Umm, I talk to my parents sometimes, but not always.
I like to talk to my emotional support dog I visit every week and his owner and that helps.

What is the hardest thing about being adopted?
The hardest thing is that I can't remember the feeling of my old family. It's hard not to see my old house. And if you ask other kids who are adopted, they will tell you the same thing, it's hard, that's the hardest.

And what is the nicest thing about adoption?
It's having this family with so many more people.

I have all my families together and it just keeps getting bigger. The more families I'm a part of, the more people I have.

Why is it important to keep adding to family and stay in contact with everyone?
That's the best thing, a growing growing family.

How would you explain to other kids what it's like to be adopted?
I would say that, if you are adopted, just be careful not to think too much about the things that make you sad or you won't go passed it in life, you won't stop carrying it with you. It doesn't mean you can just jump over it, you have to drag it with you all the way to the end of life.

So what do you do when you are sad to get passed those moments?
I play with my parents and that helps because if I play with my new parents, I can get under the sadness and avoid it. But it's always there later in life and I just have to get over it again. But if I can't get over it by myself, I carry it until I'm with my parents again and they help me over it again.

And how are things with this family?
Good, I'm very happy with this family.

I have my mom, my dad, my sister, lots of people. I also have other brothers and sisters who live with other families, far away but I'm happy when we can visit.

Thank you very much for sharing with everyone.
You're welcome.