Early in our adoption process one of the best pieces of advice we received was to connect with other families who had been through the adoption process. We reached out to these families for their wisdom and their experiences, advice, struggles and triumphs helped prepare us for our journey to Poland and then for the time after we arrived home.
Now that we are home, Kim and I feel that we owe it to those who come after us the same time and willingness to help as those families who were willing to be there for us. Let's be honest, only other adoptive families will have a clue of what challenges you are going to face, the loneliness that sets in as you wait for updates or lulls in the process, the difficulties in raising funds, and the patience needed to see this process to completion.
Social networking like blogs, Facebook, message boards and Twitter can help families stay connected and to help ease the feeling of being alone. Our agency, for example, has Facebook groups for each of their country programs. These groups are a great way of staying in touch with families who are on the same journey. They also allow us to encourage, pray and celebrate with each other. Networking like this allows us to make and develop relationships that will last a lifetime. These are the people that will be there for you when you need that shoulder to cry on or when you are celebrating that one piece of paper getting apostilled that everyone else thinks is no big deal.
We encourage all families who are getting started to reach out to others who have walked this path of adoption. It's also important that those of us who have been through it do not forget to pay it forward!
Until next time.....
We were in another program for several months but have switched over to their Poland program. We are on track to travel to Poland early next year. I look forward to reading the rest of your blog and seeing what tips and advice is available for travel and after we come home.
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