November is National Adoption Awareness Month (NAAM)
Going through this process can sometimes be difficult to explain and talk about as protective adoptive parents. We have gotten past the difficult paperwork part, and now is on to the waiting which can be the most difficult part.
Since we can get phone call any day/minute that would change our world forever, we wanted briefly share where we are at in our adoption journey. There is such a disconnect of feeling because while we couldn't be more excited, and can't wait to be matched, there is an awareness of the idea that we are waiting and hopeful for a family to make an impossible decision that is going to be traumatic for everyone involved.
This trauma for everyone involved (expectant parent(s), adoptive parents and ultimately the child) is something that is often not discussed, as it can be uncomfortable to talk about. That being said, there is trauma - and the first step to healing is being able to acknowledge it.
The idea of a National Adoption Awareness Month is a very weird concept for us. This is because it essentially celebrating the most traumatic event in a child's life. While looking into this, we can across a video from the voice of adoptee's who are asking to "flip the script" on NAAM, and use it to help bring awareness to the adoptee voice, as an adoptive child does grow up with their own complex thoughts and feeling (which are not all the same). Often adoptees are told "they should be grateful" for their life, and many other things, which makes it difficult to express their thoughts and feelings (not all good) about their adoption. Flipping the script allows adoptees to bring their voice to the front to be heard, and let it be known what they need to heal.
We would like to take this opportunity to bring attention to our friends, families and followers the importance of listening to the voices of the experts, and #flipthescript.
<3 S & G
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