Conversations with My (Future) Kids
January 11th, 2012 | waiting and wanting kids
While there’s no actual news, I continue to feel we might be on the verge of something happening. Wishful thinking, or wise intuition? You decide.
An Unearned Feeling of Hope
January 7th, 2012 | holidays and celebrations waiting and wanting kids
Is it just the slightly longer days, or has something shifted and lifted? I’d say things are looking up.
The Hardest Part: Saying No
January 2nd, 2012 | adoption waiting and wanting kids
Is it amazing, or predictable? After giving up on anything happening during the holidays, we were asked if we’d take an infant. New year’s eve-eve, as we were leaving town for a few days away. The baby had to be picked up that day.
Magic Works Its… Magic
December 20th, 2011 | holidays and celebrations waiting and wanting kids
How do the pre-solstice, deep-in-winter, wanna hibernate blues lift? It’s magic.
I Guess Not This Year
December 15th, 2011 | holidays and celebrations waiting and wanting kids
I believe in magical thinking, and I try to never say never. But. But. But. I have to admit, we’re not going to get kids this year, not before Hanukkah, Christmas, or New Years. Nope.
The Joy of the Holiday Card
December 12th, 2011 | holidays and celebrations
I just love Christmas cards, annual holiday letters, and family photos that come in the mail.
Saved Again by Yoga
December 8th, 2011 | daily life waiting and wanting kids
How can it be that something that’s helped so much, again and again, could be something I put off, skip, and delay until the very last minute?
The Color-Coded Tree
December 4th, 2011 | holidays and celebrations
We put up our Christmas tree today, and I love the smell of pine, the forest-y mess of the needles and dust. But every year I put up a tree, I remember vividly my childhood Christmas job with a very different tree.
Good Problems
November 30th, 2011 | adoption waiting and wanting kids
While I’m sure I’ve tried everyone’s patience going over my angst and excitement waiting for kids (and I reserve the right to continue complaining as necessary), I feel it’s also important to keep a little perspective. These are good problems to have.
Thankful at Last
November 27th, 2011 | holidays and celebrations waiting and wanting kids
I love all of the holidays, and always have. My mother made my brother and I hunt for Easter Eggs every spring until I was in my 20s. As long as she lived, the holidays were enforced, in a good way.
The Fun Side of Waiting
November 24th, 2011 | waiting and wanting kids
While it’s easy to focus on the worry and planning and unknown part of not yet having our family — or, you could say, of not yet being in our future — anticipation can be fun as well.
Trying to Understand a Dysfunctional System
November 22nd, 2011 | adoption
We’re experiencing the most frustrating disconnect between the urgency we feel reading about children in the foster care system and the response of the system to these kids.
It’s Not Because We’re Gay
November 21st, 2011 | adoption gay dads
Maybe the most surprising thing about our adoption journey has been how much being a gay couple seems to barely figured into it at all.
Best Camping Trip Ever
November 20th, 2011 | waiting and wanting kids
Part of deciding I really, really was sure I wanted kids has been reviewing my fondest memories with my godson and other friends’ kids.
Training: The Big Scare
November 19th, 2011 | adoption
OK, I understand that training for adoption and foster parenting has to kick you in the gut a little, to weed out those who aren’t serious or prepared.
A Very Long Ache
November 16th, 2011 | waiting and wanting kids
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a tiny, bittersweet heartache at the site of parents with their kids. Usually it’s in the background–far below the smile at the smear of peanut-butter, the laugh at a child’s funny expression or even a colorful tantrum. I love seeing people and their kids, it’s a true joy. But underneath has always been a small, bright prick of loss and feeling excluded from something I really, really want.