Adoption Class # 1

One of the requirements we must go through to be approved by the Kinship Center is a set of 4 classes. Each class is three hours from 6:30 - 9:30 on Monday evenings, once a month. While we aren't looking forward to the hour plus there drive fighting rush hour traffic in Los Angeles, we are looking forward to these classes.

One of the things we really respected and appreciated about the Kinship Center is their philosophy and strength in counseling (both adoptive parents and birth parents). This first class will be our first true exposure to the depth of the issue on their end. We've read portions of books but are always looking to prepare ourselves more.

The title to this session is called "Lifelong Adoption Issues." It should be good. I (Adam) usually like to prepare close the event instead of add a lot of distance from it. With parenting though, its different. You've got to have a game plan and you've got to know the issues before they happen. I want us to be proactive parents not reactive parents. I look forward to hearing different ways we can guide our child(ren) through their identities, both biologically and us as a family. My psychology background peaks up with these sort of things as well.

What about you. Do you yourself or some you know who is adopted/Adopting have any pieces of wisdom on Lifelong Adoption Issues, again focusing on relationship with the birth family and how adoption fits into their identity as they grow up? Let us know. We'll give an update on the session when we get back.

We are going to be PARENTS!

Friday night was the last night of Marriage counseling. A couple of months ago Fuller school of Psychology offered free marriage counseling, and we jumped on it. Why wait until things are broken to get a tuneup? We decided early on that we would treat ourselves to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen after our last session.

As we were wrapping things up at Fuller, one of the counselors asked if we had thought about all that we had learned and how that will effect how we will relate to our child as parents. Well to be honest we hadn't thought too much about this, and hearing it out loud was kind of overwhelming. In that wow this is really happening kind of way.

So as we sat at CPK eating yummy white pizza with apple smoked bacon, we talked and imagined a little about what it will be like. Of course we were kind of giddy as we dreamed but also feeling the heaviness of, Holy Diapers we are going to be PARENTS. We kind of stared at each other with the can you believe it look.

The night ended with us sitting at Starbucks scheming ways to save more money, organize a yard sale, get hand me downs, and smiling in the reality of it all.