Not Picture Perfect
Two years ago, we felt a void in our family. We had a very strong marriage, but somehow we knew we were missing a piece of our puzzle. This is when we both realized we wanted a baby to complete our family, and we began researching adoption as the option for us to have the family we always wanted.
Eventually we found LifeLong. With their success rate and their LGBT focus, we knew partnering with LifeLong would be the right choice for us.
In the beginning of our journey, we waited for what felt like a long time. We were excited to start the journey, but after the educational calls, we didn’t connect with expectant mothers for a long time. We felt stagnant, and this led to doubts about the outcome. During that time, it was hard not to take things personally. We went online to see why our profile didn’t enable connections and scrutinized every detail.
During this time, we leaned on each other for support. We talked to our friends to try to stay optimistic. We also made sure to adjust our mindset. We kept on reminding ourselves we were just waiting for the right child and the right expectant mother. We wanted to stay hopeful, so we kept on picturing the day when we would finally complete our family.
Not How We Pictured It
We got a call about an expectant mother who chose us the day before her delivery. We got the call from LifeLong about a mother who was in need in our state. She was a mother who was partnered with a local organization, which reached out to LifeLong because she was not in a healthy state and needed immediate assistance. Due to the urgency of the situation, that local organization asked us to pay massive fees before starting the process of adoption. We were in shock when we received the message we had to transfer funds the next day.
At that time, we knew the mother could still change her mind. We didn’t know the mother and had never spoken to her. We only knew she was in a compromised state because of her situation.
In the end, we paid and got on the plane to Reno, where John was being delivered. We arrived at the hospital just in time for his birth. Once we got to the hospital, we knew we had made the right decision. John was just laying in the bassinet, and we were overflowing with joy. We cried at the sight of our son.
Now That We’ve Been Through It
Now that we’ve been through this process once, we know what we need to do. Emotional preparation was the key to making sure we stayed positive throughout the process. We’d love to adopt again and grow our family. We want John to have siblings, and we can’t wait to go on the journey again when the time is right.
Whenever we look at John now, we not only see the joy he is bringing to our family but we also see the tremendous value we are bringing into his life. No amount of money can buy this type of happiness we are experiencing right now.
Our Priorities Changed for the Better
Before John joined our family, we were a very career-oriented family. We both worked a lot and often too much to enjoy life experiences. Now we are excited to come home at the end of the day to be with John. We’ve found a new kind of work–life balance we never knew we could have.
In some ways, not only did we complete our family but we’ve found new life goals, new experiences we want to share, and new passions. As we expand our family, we are looking into a future that is filled with unconditional love.