3 Years Later

9/3/14–The day the stars aligned and prayers were answered. The day I finally experienced love at first sight. The day that would forever change the trajectory of my life. The day that was, and still is, so full of emotion. The day that I’ll never forget. The day I became a mom. The day I became Quinlan’s mom.

 

Today is our “gotcha day” anniversary. This day always brings out so many emotions for me.

The first being overwhelming love. Love for Quin, love for his birth parents, love for our friends and family who support, and continue to support us all, love for our attorney and adoption consultant, love for the adoption community.

Happiness. Happiness for the life that we have built with Quin. Happiness regarding the progress Quin has made. Happiness for the fact that we are a family. Happy for the hundreds of other families who’s lives have been blessed by adoption.

Sadness. Sad for the fact that his birth parent’s hearts are aching while ours are full of joy. Sad for the fact that Q has already had to endure so much in his short life. Sad for the 100s upon 100s of families waiting to adopt.

Hope. Hopeful that our family will continue to love and grow. Hopeful for Quin’s future. Hopeful that any emotional scars Quin has from his past will heal and not hold him down. Hope that Quin will one day fully understand the love and sacrifice made by his birth parents to ensure he has the best life possible. Hope that the waiting families see our story as one of inspiration and continue to follow their adoption journey.

Quinlan James, my son, you will forever be my baby. I’ll never forget the day I met you. Walking into a dimly lit room and seeing you. a 2 year old far too big, swinging in a baby swing just laughing and smiling. You, your daddy, and myself were all nervous. You could see the hesitation on your face. Who were these people calling themselves momma and daddy? Why did they want to hug you? Why did they take so many pictures of you? Why were they smiling and crying at the same time? I can only imagine the confusion surrounding the situation. I hope that, over these past 3 years, the confusion has faded in the background and you now know that you are loved, cared for, prayed over, and wanted more than anything in mine and your daddy’s entire world.  In these 3 years, you have become quite the “momma’s boy”. I pray that over the coming years our bond continues to remain strong and unconditional.

Through the valleys and the peaks. Through the sun and the rain. Through the smiles and the tears. Through the hot and the cold. Through the easy and the hard. Through the good and the bad. Through it all. Forever, a family we will be.