Class #2 Finished

We just finished our 2nd class for our required adoption classes. It was called "Finding the Missing Pieces." It was a wonderful class, but did make us a little sad knowing the many things our daughter will lose out on being adopted. Its sad that as adoptive parents we won't be able to just "make it better", but we can help her to deal with the losses and grieve the losses. The class was about helping adopted children cope with grief and loss. Even as an infant, our daughter will grieve the loss of her foster family, culture, sights, sounds, smells, language, even her name. Everything that she knew from the moment she was born to the time we take her home will be lost to her. Many people think that babies aren't effected by adoption- especially young ones, but they still are. Although we will be providing her with a wonderful home and she will be gaining a family, she will also be experiencing losses in her own way. Adoption is a balancing act of gains and losses for the birth parents, our daughter, and even us. The class was great at showing us the different behaviors she may exhibit at different times of her life as she deals with being adopted and coping with loss and grief. We learned many different strategies to help her. Since raising her will be completely different than raising our boys, this class was extremely helpful. I would recommend it to anyone effected by adoption or foster care.

Well... 2 down... 1 more to go!!