Innocence

If you are also an adoptive parent, I highly recommend you pick up, "Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew," by Sherrie Eldridge. There are so many wonderful thoughts that I never would have considered.

"Adoption day finally arrives, the day that at times seemed an eternity away. The home studies are over. The "what ifs" are behind you. Smooth sailing from here on out.
The birth mother tearfully signs the adoption papers as the nurse dresses the baby in the outfit you bought. The relatives gather at your house in anticipation of the homecoming. A meal is prepared. The mood is festive. Voices are loud and cheerful.
Cameras flash and videos roll as you carry the baby into her new home for everyone to see. "Isn't she beautiful!" they all say one after another. Grandparents hold her first, then the aunts and uncles and cousins. The baby lies quietly in each person's arms, seemingly oblivious to all that is happening around her. However, no one knows that beneath her crisp white dress is a tiny grieving heart ........ a heart that wonders where Mommy is. Her smell. The sound of her voice. Her heartbeat. Her body. Where did she go?
Such a primal loss that your adopted baby experiences on the day she comes to live with you. Before you ever held her in your arms she lost her birth mother and all she represents. It is a crushing blow that will affect her life forever.
She is grieving, others are rejoicing. She is wounded, others are unaware. She needs comfort and nurturing, others are celebrating."

My heart breaks reading this passage, but how true it must be, how scarey for her.