The other day at work I walked by a pond in our complex, and lo and behold, there was a Great Egret standing in all its beauty and serenity looking, I am guessing, for lunch. I felt blessed to see this beautiful bird looking like something out of a Japanese watercolor.
I wanted to share this inspiring event with the readers of my monthly column in the Santa Clarita Magazine because I hope that you are feeling supported in your journey toward forming your family. Making the decision to adopt is a huge step, I know. But, in a physical way, once you make your decision you are that much closer to becoming a family and having the child you are dreaming of.
When my husband and I decided that we needed to stop our unsuccessful infertility treatments after several years, we, like most of you, needed to regroup. We considered that maybe parenting was just not in the cards for us, got some furry children (birds, dogs or cats, whatever fills the void) and tried to move on with our lives. However, we realized we really desired to become parents and I desperately wanted at least one baby. Truly, that is much of the reason we chose to explore open adoption. When I called around and received several packets of information, the one message that resonated with me was that the Independent Adoption Center placed the baby with the adoptive parents at birth. Although I was very unsure of my feelings about open adoption, it was certainly worth attending one of their bi-monthly adoption information sessions.
The rest, as they say, is history. Today, I am entering my 15th year as a member of the IAC staff and my children are 16 and 12. Both my children know who they are and where they came from. I see how important knowing their birthparents is to them. My husband and I know, without reservation, that open adoption was the best choice for us and for the mental and emotional health of our children. I am continually amazed at my good fortune in working at the same agency through which I adopted my children. The egret sighting seemed another blessed event in my life.
Sharon Fitzgerald is the Director of Advertising and Marketing for the Independent Adoption Center, a licensed adoption agency. For more information, please call 1-800-877-6736 or www.adoptionhelp.org.