Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Finally..... A Celeb Adoption happens like it does for the rest of us...

Yesterday as I was waiting for my dentist appointment, I happened to notice the cover of "People" magazine. On the cover was a beaming Sandra Bullock and her adorable son, Louie. Intrigued by Sandra's adoption journey and how she managed to keep the adoption a secret for so long, I settled into a comfortable chair and began to read.

The first item that struck a chord with me was the time of Sandra's wait. Unlike some of Sandra's celebrity counterparts, she did not use her celebrity to lessen the time the process takes. Sandra said that she wanted to go through the process just like anyone else would. Bravo! Finally, a celeb who knows that the right child will find you at the right time and doesn't rush this important process.

I was also intrigued by how Sandra and her now estranged husband kept the adoption a secret. I don't know if any of you have ever had to keep a secret of that magnitude before but I can assure you that it is not easy. Thank God for all of their family and friends who respected their wishes and kept their joyful secret. I'm sure having some privacy to bond and adjust to this new family member was much appreciated :) .

I can relate to having privacy and time to bond with your new child very well. When we adopted our daughter and brought her home, we were told by our agency and social worker to give ourselves plenty of time to bond with our baby before introducing her to any friends or family members. As hard as we tried to follow this rule (and we did for a little while), we could not keep the grandparents away once they found out about our new addition, nor could we keep good friends who had been with us throughout our journey away either.

Another interesting part of this interview was the parallel between Sandra's Oscar winning role as an adoptive parent in The Blind Sideand her real life role as an Adoptive Mom. Apparently, Sandra received the call about "Louie" while she was filming 'The Blind Side' and never dreamed that her son would come into her life at the time that he did. I think that's the way it is with most of us who have adopted. When we receive the call, we are excited and in disbelief that the wait is finally coming to an end. It is my belief that none of this supposed "ironic" timing is ironic at all....it just means that divine intervention has selected a child that is an unique fit for the adoptive family.

I admire Sandra's resolve to finalize this adoption as a single parent. I can't imagine what it would be like to parent on your own ! Louie is one loved and lucky child to be able to call Sandra "Mom". Congratulations to Sandra and Louie and to anyone out there in the blogging world that may be adopting. May your parenthood journey be a wonderful adventure filled with love and happiness !