Posted: September 18, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I arrived at Munchkin’s house yesterday just in time to take her to school. Not just any school: kindergarten. She started last week. She loves it, of course. I’m sure she’s the smartest in her class. She’s definitely the cutest. That’s for certain. I digress.
We got her gathered up, dropped off JD at preschool and drove on to her elementary school. After she got out of the vehicle, she grabbed her Mommy’s hand. And then she grabbed my hand. I then walked her up the sidewalk and into her school, holding her hand; her mom on one side and me on the other. As we went to leave, she gave M (her stepdad as of tomorrow) a hug and a kiss. And then her mom a hug and a kiss. And then she gave me a hug and a kiss. Unprompted. Unrequested. Just a normal flow of hugs and kisses.
I have no words for how this made me feel.
I do wonder, however, what, if anything, the teacher thought. Who was I? Why did Munchkin’s eyes look like mine? I’d have questions if I was the teacher; it’s only natural. While the “traditional” family is rare anymore, human nature is to wonder and mentally, if not out loud, ask questions. I just wonder what she thought.
I am so blessed. I have received hugs. And kisses. And had moments alone. Right now? I’m watching my daughter and her brother while her mom and her stepdad (as of tomorrow) are out to dinner. I have been left, alone, in a house with the daughter I placed for adoption. This has happened before, of course, as I have never presented a threat in any way. I have been entrusted with bedtime routine. I have the joy of reading stories and cuddling. I wish I could do it more often.
I so love our visits. I wish this one didn’t have to end. But I do miss my boys.
Posted: January 27, 2009 at 2:32 pm
In the last ten miles before arriving at the mountain house, my stomach began to turn. Flipping and flopping, I tried to figure out what I was feeling. Obviously, some of my anxiety was rearing its head but I couldn’t pin-point the general feeling of unrest. It wasn’t dread but there was some fear involved. Obviously excitement played into it as well. Soon we arrived. After the car was unpacked, the boys were put in jammies and put down in bed for the night, D informed me that the Munchkin wanted me to go in and kiss her head when we got there.
I opened her door, tip-toed to the bed and felt a year and a half of worry lift from my shoulders.
There she was, before my very own eyes. Sleeping and peaceful, her hair spread all over her pillow. I sat next to her, quietly, as mothers do, and just stared… as mothers do. In those few quiet moments, I knew what I had been feeling. I had feared that she wouldn’t remember me. That she wouldn’t want to spend time with me. But, even more so, I had feared that in the past year and a half I had somehow lost the ability to be her birth mother. That the feeling and knowledge had left, that I wouldn’t feel the same when I saw her.
If you’re not a birth mother, those last few sentences might not make sense. What do I mean when I say “how to be a birth mother” exactly? There is no exactly as I’m 100% sure it varies from birth mother to birth mother. For me, it involves a feeling of all-encompassing love mixed with pride. It is a feeling of awe that something/someone I have missed for however long we have been apart, someone I have grieved the lack of presence is suddenly right back in front of me. It’s also a feeling of pride within myself. Not for relinquishing or “doing the right thing” or any of that. No. A feeling of pride that I have continued to put in the leg work that allows me to sit on the side of her bed and listen to her steady, sleepy breathing. It’s not easy, that leg work. But the reward? Nothing can replace it.
I sat there, watching her sleep, just for a few minutes. I didn’t want to wake her brother (JD) sleeping just feet from her. As I watched, a feeling of peace came over my soul. No, it didn’t remove the grief that I have that she isn’t in our daily life. That peace doesn’t remove the fact that, sitting here today hundreds of miles apart, yes, I still miss her. But a peace with what “is.”
That peace was further confirmed by ineractions over the weekend. Not just with her but with D, her Mom. Conversations between the lot of us. Laughter by all of us. Time spent watching, time spent playing. When it comes down to it, I have peace with the relationship, the existence of adoption in our lives. Do I still wish she was here right now, asking me questions? Well, sure. What person who is missing someone doesn’t wish for such a thing? But do I know that she is okay? Do I know that she is thriving? Do I know that she is loved by all in her life? Do I know that she will be okay and, as such, in the end, I will be okay? Yes. Yes I do.
I’ll be writing some more about some of my issues, sharing some little stories and some pictures over the next week (or two)… or three. But for now, I leave you with this. It is my new favorite picture of the two of us together. This was taken after a “face off” in which we made funny faces together for the camera and before she told me, “I was born from your belly.”
I? AM the luckiest.
Posted: January 22, 2009 at 12:00 pm
The weather forecast is good. Cold, but good.
I think I have everything packed. I’m sure I forgot far too much. I had to buy disposable diapers because there is no washing machine at the house where we’re staying. I’m hoping my youngest son’s butt doesn’t have a bad reaction to the diapers. I just realized I forgot to pack the diaper rash cream. That would be asking for a rection if I forgot it, no?
I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m elated. I’m worried. I’m going to be exhausted by the time we get there. But it will be so worth it.
I’m so lucky. I’m so blessed.
