National Adoption Month and Adopted Ed

I know it's the very last day of the month, but that's okay because I don't believe all these special "months" should be limited and then we don't think about them the rest of the year!

This month I've been thinking a lot about adoption.  It helps that a friend of mine has made it her mission to add to the end of every one of her statuses this month that it was "National Adoption Month" and her birthday!

I'm so thankful that in our culture, or at least with the people I know, adoption is becoming something that is thought of, accepted, and a possibility.  It seems that in the not too distant past adoption had a lot of stigma attached to it, no matter why you adopted (or were adopted).  My parents were actually in the waiting period for an adoption when they found out I was coming along!

At the moment our family is a long ways from an adoption (hello, I'd like to get my nights back first!), but it is something that we've talked about and are open to.  There are a lot of kids out there in the US and internationally that need good homes.

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In honor of National Adoption Month I received a copy of Adopted Ed by Darren Maddern from the One2One Network. 

Darren was adopted from England as a baby and this book is way of putting into words some of the things he experienced as well as giving other adopted kids a way to talk about their stories.  It tells the whole story from when he was a baby up to looking for his biological parents from "Ed's" perspective in short rhyming paragraphs.  At the end it includes a list of some pretty famous people who were also adopted.

I think this book would be great for someone with an adopted child as a catalyst for talking about their life experiences.  It could be good for other siblings or even friends to be aware of the feelings of an adopted child.  The more we talk about things the less there is that can be confused because it's hidden.

I do have one pretty big problem with the book though.  Ed is teased at school for being adopted and his mom teaches him a retort, "My parents chose me, yours were stuck with you".  The answer to bullying is never to bully back and unfortunately that's just what this phrase does.  In an attempt to make Ed feel better his mother was teaching him to put others down.  The fact that adopted kids are chosen is very important and does make them feel special, but it should never be at others expense.

So if you're going to read this to your kids or let them read it themselves please be sure that you talk about this point!

And next time you run into a friend who's adopted or adopting, give them a big hug, theirs is a special job!