Adoption STAR Founder/CEO Michele Fried shares excerpts from a revealing adoption-themed article she authored years ago.
The journal entries I shared in the previous post make me not so different from the prospective adoptive parents Adoption STAR works with everyday. Hoping to become a parent was my most desired dream. Waiting to become a parent was different then hoping. One 40-year-old prospective adoptive mom told me once, “I have been waiting to be a mom for 40 years.” I could relate.
The waiting was hard. Yet, the waiting taught me the most. Reflecting back on that time and re-reading my journals help me to see where I was and how far I have come today.
In part two of the original article I wrote, I addressed that I could easily write the same words again 18 years after the arrival of our first child. It has been almost 28 years since that journal entry.
January 17, 1988
Today our baby has been with us for two months. Our beautiful son was born on Saturday, November 14, 1987 at 11:01 am. He was 7 pounds 1 ounce and was approximately 20 inches in length. We picked him up on Tuesday, November 17, 1987. We named our child Zachary Louis Fried.
I am at a loss for words. I do not know how to express on paper our love for this beautiful child, our son. There isn’t anything in the world that can make us happier. Zachary is everything to us. We love him more than we thought possible. He is so beautiful. He is so wonderful.
The joy I felt when my son was placed in my arms on November 17th will stay with me for the rest of my life. Our experiences the day we picked up Zachary will be shared with him as the years pass on.
We are so lucky.
Zachary, we love you. Forever.
At the end of the article I wrote: I knew that this baby was the son we were meant to raise. I knew that I would one day write a story eighteen years later. I knew from the moment I was handed this baby that I would never take this blessing for granted. Wherever my son goes in life, whatever choices he makes, I will always be honored to call myself Zachary’s mom.
My son chose Adoption STAR as his second home. You can find Zack at the main office typically 6 days per week – even though the office is open for the traditional 5-day workweek. Sometimes you can find him in the Ohio or Florida satellite offices making sure the files are in compliance or meeting with prospective clients. Sometimes you can find him NYC at a packed adoption orientation session, or at a local junior high classroom talking about adoption. He chose adoption as his professional path and that’s pretty neat to me.