Lady A

When we first started the adoption process we weren't sure what to expect.  We knew it could be awhile before we brought a baby home--it was, over 2 years, which I guess is a short/average time compared to most domestic adoptions.  We knew it would be stressful--I'm not sure non-adoptive families can fully grasp how stressful it is.  We also knew it would be well worth the wait!!  What I didn't expect was the love and compassion I would feel towards our birthmom.  I knew I would be forever thankful and grateful for the choice a birthmom made but that was before I met OUR birthmom.

Lady A (which, by the way, is a nod towards one of my favorite groups, Lady Antebellum) is so fantastically great!  As I noted in a previous post, we were chosen before so I do have a little something to compare her to.  I know that I would not be singing these praises about our first birthmom, even if she had gone through with it.  Everything about Lady A felt right and good.  She seemed so excited and genuinely happy about choosing adoption for Kade.  When we told her he'd be the first grandchild on both sides of the family she got a big smile on her face.  Our meeting with her was fun, relaxed and even humorous at times!  I always pictured "the meeting" to be somber, maybe even some tears, but that was definitely not the case.  It was so relieving to see our birthmom nearly as excited as we were!  We were even told by the hospital social worker that if she could describe a "perfect birthmom", Lady A would be it.  Talk about putting an adoptive couple's mind at ease!  She's the reason I started this blog.  It's just a small way to show my appreciation.  I don't even know if she reads this but I'm just going to assume she does and so I'll keep on posting pictures and updates of Kade so she can see him grow.

What is even more great about our adoption story is the similarities we share with Lady A.  She grew up in a town of 900 people, we grew up in a town of 1,100.  She played all the sports small towns have to offer, we played almost  all of the sports (I gave up softball in 4th grade when I got hit in the head by a bad throw during summer rec and gave up track in 7th grade when I realized I'd never be able to drop the plow that was causing me to get last place in every race).  She grew up on a dairy farm, Erik grew up on a dairy farm.  Actually, Erik still gets tractor withdrawal every spring and fall and we still have to make a swing through the 4-H dairy cow barn at the fair every year. 

I genuinely like Lady A, I actually think we would've been great friends had we been in the same class.  I want to see her again and I hope we do.  I just didn't expect to feel that way about the birthmom.  I expected that I would want our child to know about his/her birth family and maybe even meet them once or twice but that was as far as I would want the relationship to go.  That's completely the opposite of how I feel now.  I want them at milestones in Kade's life.  I want Kade to really know his birth family.  I know that's a lot to ask and I realize that probably won't happen but that's my dream.  I'm so proud of his adoption story and I'm so happy that Lady A and her family love Kade as much as we do.  I feel so blessed that Kade has such a wonderful birthmom and family.  I've heard horror stories, lived through one myself, so I was expecting the worst but what we got was the best.