Jumping through hoops

Though there are hoops to jump through, A. reminds me that we choose to want to be parents. We choose to want to adopt a child. So it's not so much a struggle, but I know, an honor. Sure that some little one is waiting for her/his forever family as s/he looks forward to tomorrow . . . Of course, it's worthwhile. And I'm most certainly reminded when I find myself spending three hours on a Saturday morning combing through 'adoption journey' videos on YouTube as I pat my eyes dry with wads of tissue. I've had no doubt that I've wanted to adopt ever since my Auntie J. adopted my cousin, E., when I was eight years old. And in eighth grade when we were asked to list our future accomplishments, adopting a child was on the top of my list. And no doubt adoption has always been in my heart . . . when in college, I decided to do my feature writing project on my good friend, B., who is an adoptee from Vietnam. For all the paperwork and fees that are involved as we go through the process, jumping through hoops is just a small part. As A. has told me many times, Respect the process.