My
adoption journey has been one of joy and sadness, pain and poignancy,
of fear and triumph. Is this any different from the experience of
any parent? Adopting older children has challenges, to be sure, but
the joys seem sweeter and the
victories
more satisfying. I adopted my two children, Anapaula and Adriano,
at the ages of eight and seven. I was a 38 year-old single woman whose
life was about to change
in ways I could not imagine. The experience of traveling to Brazil,
though
difficult in many ways, is one I will always treasure. I will always
share with my children the knowledge that, because we were meant for
each other, I traveled
a long distance and endured some hardship to bring our family together.
We
all believe that the hand of God brought us together. How can one
argue with that? Nearly 15 years later, my children are young adults
and are trying to make their way in the world. Life has not always
been easy, but they know that the opportunities they have had here
would never have happened in Brazil. They say that
I saved their lives; I say that they saved mine.
