An adoptive mom had and adoption-related experience at her local zoo this summer, one that bothered her. Lauren C asked in an adoptive parent group if she should say something about hurtful language spoken by a staffer. I invited Lauren to share the situation and her thoughts here.
After early summer’s two trips, mid-summer also brought two trips. The first was a couple of speaking engagements at a renowned adoption camp (RNO/Lake Tahoe), and the second was in my husband’s hometown (Boston).
The annual PACT Camp took place the week of our anniversary, so my husband came with me to Reno/Tahoe for a working getaway.
I cannot say enough good things about this camp, held at the beautiful alpine Granlibakken resort. I was a bit of an outsider in that I am not part of a transracial family. But everyone at camp, from the young campers to their parents to the staff to Director Beth Hall made me feel incredibly welcome and included. Walking the talk, you might say, cultivating a culture that expresses the opposite of Othering.
On the 4th of July I presented a keynote (The Open-Hearted Way to Adoption) and a workshop (Living Open Adoption: Practical Guidance for Challenging Situations). The response to these got me more than a little high — the kind that’s legal in all states.
My friend B. Gabeler, who, like thousands of other American parents, adopted her now teenage daughters from China in the early-2000s, attended a special screening of the documentary One Child Nation this week. Not yet released, the film is already quite controversial in some adoptive parent forums, and B. was eager to be among the first to see and review it.
A proponent of truth and openness in parenting, here is B.’s review of the film and her thoughts about the contention and anxiety swirling among adoptive parents in anticipation of the film’s premier.
