Congratulations!

Me at 4 yrs. old in Headstart Preschool

Next week, a friend of ours is signing papers to officially adopt a boy she has been foster mothering for the past year. He is a sweet 4 year old, with a typical boy level of energy and a fascination with all things superhero. I think his new mom is a superhero. She has spent the past year building a safe and secure relationship with the boy. When the judge declares our friend and her son to be a real family, it won't mean anything significant to him. It will just be a continuation of what he already knows to be true - that he is loved and worthy of  her time, effort and attention.

I am so happy for our friend and her son. They make a lovely family.

I didn't find my safe family until I was an adult and created my own, but I am happy for me, too. Every child deserves to be loved, to be secure and to know they are valued. Some of us arrive on the this planet with that gift already in place, some of us have to wait a little while for it, and others have to build their own version of family. No matter how it happens, it is always a cause for celebration when it occurs.

My family with my brother Rex, in 1997