[Nelson]

I was at a blues concert held on the campus of a university in our area, and struck up a conversation with a young co-ed. For some weird reason, i decided to give her a card, the first I had handed out. I experienced a great sense of release when i did so, as if i had come out of the closet, so to speak, as a PAP. It takes quite a bit of nerve, i think, to cross that threshold for the first time and expose yourself to the world when you begin your adoption journey. But once you do so, the rest of the journey seems so easy. Perhaps it is because, as that young girl did to me, people tend to embrace your efforts with support, understanding, and encouragement.

Cards didn't do much for us, outreach-wise. But this one expereience was transformational.