As you are exploring adoption as an option for your family, we are sure that you have many questions. Once a month we ask Thomas & Stephanie a question about their adoption experience.
Question:
What have you learned or how have you grown personally from having Gladney & adoption as part of your story?
Answer:
When my husband and I started the adoption process through Gladney, we were still a bit mystified by everything involved. We experienced innumerable anxious moments while making our way through the uncharted waters of undergoing a home study, creating an adoption profile, and waiting waiting waiting for that meant-to-be call that we were matched. Our caseworker helped us stay calm and focused, and grounded us more than she realized. Even so, nothing made us more nervous than meeting our daughter's birth mother for the first time. Of course, at that time she was a potential birth mother. She had a journey and a story all her own, and was grappling with a very real and very emotional decision.
We thought we had done our research, that we knew in our heads what her story must be like. But, when we met her for the first time we realized that she was just a person, just like us. We shared common interests and were able to talk so easily to one another. It turns out that she was nothing like the fantasy we had in our heads. No part of the process has humbled us more, challenged us more, or made us grow as people more than getting to know her and going through this process by her side. Gladney did such an excellent job as a facilitator. Our caseworkers brought us together and helped to diffuse the initial nervous tension we felt. But most importantly, Gladney helped us find our hero, and to appreciate her for the person that she is as well as for the gift that she has given us. We are so thrilled with the relationship that we are continuing to develop with her and her family.
We encourage you to share this adoption advice with others and find out what advice your social network would provide.