Wednesday, January 19, 2011

International Adoption

Every country from which you adopt has its own set of rules and regulations, and those rules and regulations are always changing. Politics and that country's relationship to America can also influence the flow of the adoption process at times. This can be some of the uncertainty of adopting from another country on occasion. I can certainly say from personal experience that if you do adopt from another country you will have a larger sense of what is happening in the rest of the world, not just America.

The piece that is so interesting is that along with the frustration and delay of waiting for some parents there is also the reality that your family is now not only American but international and that will never change.

For instance, in 2001 I was able to adopt my daughter from China as an older (early 40s) single mother. Now in 2011, this is no longer possible, and even the age restrictions for American couples are very specific. My daughter and I have been touched and impacted by a short time in history in China when there was a one child per family rule and when single parent adoption was allowed. I am grateful that my daughter has close friends that are similarly impacted by this history so that as they grow older together they can integrate this experience into their lives and sense of Self in the world.

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