I Know You!

There is something wonderful that happens after you adopt a child. It happens between you and your child. You start to know each other.

Most times you adopt a child that is a stranger to you, and you are certainly a stranger to this child, especially with international adoption. Your genetic make-up is different, your personalities are different, your cadence of life is different, and then you are given the blessing to be this child's parent. This strange little stranger is yours. And you don't know each other at all.

But with time, you learn each others smells and laughs and glances. You know how that little body feels in your arms and that those tearful eyes mean hunger...or hurting...or needing a hug...or anger...or fear. And you fall into a rhythm with each other. It sneaks up on you in a gentle hushed way and one day whispers, "You are a family."

It just takes my breath away.