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I’m adopted. People always ask, “when did I know?” but I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know. My family is white and I am black, so it was pretty obvious. My parents adopted me when I was about 2 months old. Not because my mom couldn’t have children, I’m a middle child, but because she wanted to (and could). I always tease her and say “what happened mom? Did you wake up one day and say “I want a baby,” and go and pick me up?” My mom just laughs.

Kerstin Lindquist is an adoptive parent too, and she recently posted this quote “adoption is when a baby grows in its mommy’s heart instead of her tummy.” My mom would agree with that. My mom says a child is a child. She/he needs to be fed, clothed, bathed, taken to the doctor and the dentist, and cared for depending upon her/his individual needs. When she says that I always think of the saying “love is the process of tending,” love is a verb.

November is National Adoption Month- a collective effort to raise awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting for permanent and loving families.

I know adoption isn’t for everyone, for one reason or another, and I appreciate the honesty of those who would not adopt. But there are so many children who need a loving home, that I will forever be one who shouts from the rooftops that adoption is a wonderful thing for everyone involved. If it’s family you want, family you can have.

I don’t know exactly how my mom “picked” me, but I am forever grateful to be part of my wild, colorful, zany, loving family. Not grateful for a favor, like “lucky to be here,” but grateful for the certitude of family. And adoption is that… the certitude of family, for every adopted child.

 - Rachel