expectant mama here

This post was written back in January of this year for a friend’s website focused on motherhood.  As 2014 comes to an end, I thought it rather fitting to re-post these thoughts from 12 months ago.

Becoming a mama can be a bag of mixed emotions.  Excitement, fear, and everything in between.  Marcy explores the emotions of motherhood through foster care adoption.

The thought of my family size increasing excites me.  Thinking about all the giggles, memories, and learning the favorites of my new little one can make my heart feel like it is going to burst.

Maybe you can relate.

There are a few things that make me feel like I don’t fit into the rest of those who have joined the world of motherhood.  My baby bump isn’t growing, in fact it hasn’t even started.  We are adopting.

Before you start searching for the words to tell me you are sorry, please inhale.  My life partner and I can conceive children biologically as far as we know.  We arechoosing to follow our hearts… to call one to two 4-10 year-old child(ren) our daughter(s) or son(s).

My husband is motivated to do something he always wished someone would do for his paternal grandfather that was left without caregivers at the age of 7 or 8.  Grandpa Sam was never adopted.  I am motivated by a deep desire to be a sanctuary – a safe place – for children to heal.

My struggle is finding things in the world of motherhood that feel marketed towards me.

“Amazon Mom” wants me to buy diapers.  I’m don’t think I’ll need those.

Then there’s “Baby Registries”.  S/He/They will be beyond “baby” age…

Finally, there’s “Expectant Mother Parking”.  Can I park there?  I am expecting.

After 5 years of researching adoptions and finding insurmountable research with high dollar signs about private adoption, I learned that children in the foster care system also long be adopted.  They might not be a newborn (I never really got excited about the whole diaper-changing stage anyway) and they might require additional patience and grace as they heal from wounds, but there are many kiddos… approximately 104,000 in the United States… who go to bed each night in a foster or group home hoping someone will adopt them.

We are hoping to become mom and dad to one or two of them.

Are you interested in learning more about foster care adoption?

Visit:

www.adoptuskids.org/adoptuskids.org (National resource for potential adoptive and foster care homes, also has database of kiddos looking for a forever home.)

www.davethomasfoundation.org (Dave Thomas founded Wendy’s restaurant.  Although he is no longer alive, his foundation lives on and provides resources on helping employers become adoption-friendly.)

www.heartgalleryofamerica.org (Meet children in foster care who are longing for a forever home.)

Published 12/30/2014