Today’s adoption guest post is brought to you by Kelly Raudenbush. Enjoy!
Just another morning. We were leaning against the warm brick wall of the school, feeling the morning sun on our legs. Kids were filing into the school yard and filling the blacktop with color and conversation as we waited for the doors to open and another day of school to start.
Lydia poked at a dead bug on the ground with a stick, drawing lots of attention from curious kids who gathered around her and bent down to see the ickyness.
We smiled while we watched her enjoy the bug and all the reactions of the big kids.
“Everybody in my class loves Lydia,” Ashlyn told me.
“Yeah, big kids usually like little kids like that,” I said, picturing many class parties we had been to with kids all fighting to get close to Lydia.
“They ask me a lot of questions about her.”
“They do? Like what?”
“Mostly questions about China.”
“Yeah? What kinds of questions?”
“Like what a orphanage is like, if there are any other orphans in China….”
“Hmm. Do you tell them there are millions of orphans in China?”
“Yeah.” She said quietly. “Why aren’t there orphanages here?”
“You know, babe. We don’t have orphanages here for kids really anymore. We have foster care where kids who don’t have parents or kids who need homes live with families and then some get adopted. You know, like your cousin. He was adopted from foster care.”
“He was?”
“Yeah, remember? He doesn’t look different, and he was born right around here. But, he was adopted.”
“Oh…cool.”
The doors opened. I got waves from all and a hug from one at least as they rushed to get in the doors.
“Have a good day – I love you,” I called out to Ashlyn still in earshot.
“I love you too. Lydia, Lydia, bye, I love you!”
“Bye!” she yells as she breaks from her science lab on the blacktop.
And, then I scooped her up and walked home.
Just another morning.
Kelly and her husband live out their passion to encourage adoption and support adoptive families through The Sparrow Fund and We Are Grafted In. You can check out her blog HERE.
If you’d like to submit a post telling the story of a poignant moment that occurred during adoption or foster care, please email your 500-word submission to shawnsmucker@yahoo.com. Thanks!
Prior adoption and foster care posts include:
When Things Don’t Go the Way You Expect – Amber Hauser
Open Adoption and Who Gets to be the Mom on Mother’s Day – Ashley Glick
The Problem With Permanent Marker – A Foster Care Story With Jeffrey Lane
Fear and an Open Adoption – Adoption Stories With Rebecca Wenrich
I Saw Our New Son and the Voice Said, “Run Away” – Adoption Stories With Kim Van Brunt
Checking ‘Yes’ to Everything: Adoption Stories With Sonya Judkins
Because Someone Has To: Adoption Stories With Shar Halvorsen
Momma For a Moment: A Foster Care Story, With Tamara Out Loud
Such a neat story, Kelly! I love how innocent and open children are. How their questions are a look into their sweet hearts. This is such a great moment to be remembered !
Love this Kelly! I think adoption opens the eyes of our kids friend’s to the world! Our friends and their children ask LOTS ‘o questions here in our little bitty Texas town. Because of this, we have had several families come forward and want to talk about adopting a child :)
What was it Amanda use to say? “Be the change you want to see.”
I love this and love that girl’s heart! She is so sweet and I love the way she played with B! God’s gonna do great things through her!
Beautiful. What a sweet moment. Ashlyn sure is wise and caring above and beyond her years.