Talking About the Tough Stuff:

Adoption panel- I was asked to be on a birth-parent and adoptive-child birth panel on February 28^th, called Talking about the Tough Stuff. Since I was adopted and am currently an intern at Gladney, they thought I could provide some insight to potential adoptive parents (AP’s) and answer questions they may have. I agreed to help out, it sounded like a fun experience and I was excited to share my story! The panel was intimidating at first. My family, along with two other families, were seated at the front of the Mabee conference hall as the adoptive parents asked us questions about our individual experiences with adoption.  The AP’s all asked very good and thoughtful questions, this was a very honest discussion. Talking about the tough stuff, means that in adoption sometimes there are challenging times and sometimes adopted children may have questions that are tough to answer…  This panel/ discussion helped AP’s prepare for those questions and to feel comfortable in answering them.  At times some AP’s who shared their thoughts became emotional when describing their situations and how they wanted children or how grateful they were for the adoption process.  Overall, it was a genuine and heartwarming talk, and I left feeling like my family and I offered something truly valuable to the adoptive parents who came and listened. I’m glad I got to be a part of it.