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Celebrating the Holidays While Waiting for Your Child As I have been waiting more than twelve months, I have made it through all the major holidays. What worked for me was finding a way to acknowledge my child through some small gesture. Last Christmas, I hung a special ornament for my daughter on the tree, to signify that in my heart she was already my daughter.
--Amy, Chugiak, Alaska
We filed our paperwork with the INS on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We took the opportunity at Thanksgiving dinner... read more Finally, Our Turn! You sure look great for just having a baby. These delightful words came from a complete stranger who bent down to look into my baby cart as I maneuvered it through the crowded mall. I thanked her, but didn't tell her that I was adopting him. I figured, What the heck, let her think I look great. It gave me a boost to have someone think, for once, that I was in good shape and not slightly overweight!
After all, at... read more The Emotional Holidays Holidays are times when families gather to celebrate in traditional ways. Each of these elements of holidays--family, tradition, and recurrence--contributes to the joy. But each can also contribute to stress. In adoptive families, the associations that different family members bring to these elements may create different expectations or more intense feelings.
Our culture has created the expectation of Hallmark holidays. Families are seldom greeting-card perfect, and adoptive families are no different. Yet, during the months and years we waited for... read more
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