Sunday, August 29, 2004
"Why are you adopting from China?"
I was asked that question last night. In fact, we get asked that question a lot. I know most people are just curious, but sometimes the way it is asked is offensive. I've been asked, "why don't you have your own children?" or "why not adopt from the US or Russia?" I want to say, "mind your own business," but I know most people mean well.
The simple answer is, we are adopting a baby from China because we want to have a family. And while there are hundreds of children in China who are abandoned every day, we don't feel like we are saving a baby, but rather, this baby is saving us from a life without children.
The more complex answer is that China has a relatively easy adoption process, it is very reliable and the babies are relatively healthy. And since the babies are abandoned there are no birth parents in the picture to demand the baby be returned, as frequently happens in the United States. Also, US adoptions are extremely competitive (Remember Monica and Chandler on the final season of "Friends"?) We didn't want to go through all of that. While the "paperchase" phase took some time, it was nothing compared to months and months--sometimes years of waiting for an expectant mother to choose you out of thousands of other couples vying for the same honor.
So now that you know why we are doing this, we hope you follow us along on our journey!
The simple answer is, we are adopting a baby from China because we want to have a family. And while there are hundreds of children in China who are abandoned every day, we don't feel like we are saving a baby, but rather, this baby is saving us from a life without children.
The more complex answer is that China has a relatively easy adoption process, it is very reliable and the babies are relatively healthy. And since the babies are abandoned there are no birth parents in the picture to demand the baby be returned, as frequently happens in the United States. Also, US adoptions are extremely competitive (Remember Monica and Chandler on the final season of "Friends"?) We didn't want to go through all of that. While the "paperchase" phase took some time, it was nothing compared to months and months--sometimes years of waiting for an expectant mother to choose you out of thousands of other couples vying for the same honor.
So now that you know why we are doing this, we hope you follow us along on our journey!
# posted by JDonnals : 6:24 PM
