Will Blog, Will Travel

So, it's not that I'm not blogging much these days, even though this space has been a bit neglected lately. 

I'm not on vacation - although when I did take a few days of a working vacation recently, I found that writing at a big glass table poolside in Palm Springs in companionable silence with friends (except for frequent breaks to chat, comment on the new Bruce Cockburn CD, or eat some of the best cupcakes I've ever had) was a welcome break from solitary days writing in my upstairs room, overlooking the gray squirrels run across the gray roof under the gray sky above the gray street and gray sidewalks. 

Despite the grand view and even grander company on my Palm Springs getaway, I actually got quite a lot of reading, writing, thinking, and interviewing done. Not only that, but my spirit got a little better, defrosted like the Winter Warlock in Santa Claus is Comin' To Town.  A friend read me passages from Rob Bell's new book Love Wins. We swam, sat in the hot tub and talked about the griefs and joys that have shaped the past few years of all of our lives. There was a lot to talk about.

And being able to walk over to the trees by the swimming pool and pick a grapefruit (see above) for a little snack wasn't so bad either. The whole trip was, in a word, heartening. 

But, back to the topic at hand -- adoption.   

I found the adoption process, about 8 1/2 years ago, disheartening at many points. After months of waiting for Mia's homecoming (though, for a time, she was "Charlotte" -- but you can read all about that when Love You More comes out), I was weary, lonely and often found myself hungrily seeking affirmation, information, and some kind of hope that my daughter would, someday, actually be home with us.  

I needed some sunshine, some time away with friends who would help to heal my scraped up heart. But...I was the mother of three young children and, for many reasons, getting away wasn't an option. 

So I slogged on through and -- often -- found encouragement and community online at sites such as those created by Adoption Media. On adoption.com, I read other families' stories, updates on Guatemala adoptions, and put all my fears ("attachment issues," "older child adoption") into the search windows. 

I read and read and read.

Given the lifeline that adoption.com was for me during Mia's adoption process, I'm happy and honored to have been hired as a blogger for their transracial/transcultural family blog. You can find all my recent posts here. (And I invite you to contact me if there are questions or topics you'd like me to address on the blog - what are your fears? Your best practices? Your experiences? What encouragement are you hungry for?) 

Winter is almost over. It really is.  May you find yourself under sunny, blue skies soon, soon, soon.