Would they pick me?

Part of my new job includes keeping up with a notebook of children who are waiting to be adopted by forever families.

At the end of a busy day I began to make my updates, adding the new children’s pages to there new place in my notebook.  These pages are a reflection of their smiling faces and a short bio of their personalities, their likes, their dreams and hopes.  These pages are children.  Not just a social group that we mention in our circles.  Not just a number, lump summed together. Beautiful children, with beautiful names.

The three-ring binder is large and has a powerful presence in my office.  It is the center of everything we do in our organization.

They are the center.

As I flipped through these pages late yesterday evening, I begin to look at their smiles, their names, the clip art images chosen to reflect their personality.  What were they thinking about while standing by the river or leaning against that tree?  Are they thinking about their future family?

These smiling children captured my heart and made me smile back at them as I alphabetized them in my notebook.  Some of their smiles are choking back the pain that is spilling out through their eyes.  Some of the faces are full of joy and steadfast hope, even in the face of their immense obstacles, their eyes are bright.

And then I begin to place myself in the seat of the Adoptive Parent.  The one who will someday sit down and look through my notebook.  They will come and look at these pages, with these smiling faces and sweet stories.  What will they be thinking? What will be going through their mind when they look through this collection of those who are Waiting?

I wondered what my page would look like if I had not been born into my incredible family.  What if I had grown up like them? Waiting. Wondering.  It’s almost unimaginable – the thought of life, especially childhood, without my wonderful parents.

I wondered what the “Waiting Parents” would think when they read my page, or saw my smiling face sitting by a tree.  Would they deem me “the one?” Would my childhood interests and hopes be a match for their home.  Would they have picked me? Out of all the others?

Thankfully, that’s not how the process actually works today. Our social workers are “gifted hand holders” and “matching experts.”  The families are matched with the children, almost poetically…from what I have seen so far.   When we have “finalizations” – and the “We have a match!” email is sent out – it’s a real cause for celebration in the office.

And it all starts with a smiling face, and a story on a page in that waiting child notebook sitting on my desk.

…a few interesting FACTS.