These stories are wonderful.
My partner and I got together when I was a 24 year old college student. I told her I thought I wanted children someday. She didn't. I finished college. Went to graduate school. Started my career. She changed careers. We bought a home. We had a good life. We were happy. We still talked about children, but I wasn't sure anymore. During one of our talks she said, "It wouldn't be my choice. But I know some people really need to be parents. If that is the way you feel, I will do it with you." And more time went by.
We were together 10 years. Then one day, while driving to a family party, I told her that I really felt that I needed to be a mother. Would she still do that with me? She took a really deep breath and said okay.
We briefly tried to have a biological child, but we both felt funny choosing our child's father from a donor catalog. So after just a couple of months we switched to fost-adopt. Our homestudy wasn't even officially approved when we got our first call. There was a newborn boy who needed to be picked up from the hospital. Elizabeth frantically shopped for diapers and a few clothes while I waited for the call telling us where he was. An hour later they said his mother had requested another foster mother who had cared for her older children. So we went back to waiting.
Two months later we were called about a 2-year-old boy with special needs. He was beautiful. I will never forget seeing Elizabeth crawling on the floor playing ball with him or having him grab a Christmas book and flop in my lap saying, "book!" But he wasn't meant to be our son either.
Another month went by and we were called about a 4-year-old boy who had been in foster care since birth and needed an adoptive home. But then another caseworker decided to give his mom one more chance at reunification, so they decided not to move him after all.
By this time, I was really depressed - half convinced that it would never happen. Then, one day I was driving home from work and our caseworker called. There was a healthy 3-month-old baby boy in a county 3 hours away. He had been in care since birth and the goal was adoption. Were we interested? I didn't even give her a chance to finish speaking before I shouted, "YES!" I forgot to even ask his name.
Less than 2 weeks later, we brought him home. And he's still here. We will finalize in January. Just yesterday, Elizabeth was playing with him before bedtime and he was bouncing in her arms squealing. She hugged him tight and got tears in her eyes and said, "I just love him so much."
Now we're talking about trying for another one.
