Are You My Mother?

Recently one day, a bird flew in our house when we simply opened our front door to let a friend in. The baby bird must have been sitting on the wreath and then not knowing enough to not fly in, did fly in over my head. Funny thing is that the bird flew right to our “dog” that currently resides on the landing of our steps. (The boys are both allergic to cats and dogs, so this decorative dog is the closest thing to a real pet other than a fish that we will ever have.) It was comical to say the least to see us freaking out about how to get this bird out of the house! We thought if we left the front door open, he might fly out, but I was more afraid that his anxious momma bird might fly in, so we closed the door. We tried our fishing net, but that only sent the bird flying into the dining room. Since the bird was so tiny and actually preferred to walk instead of fly, I finally thought that maybe we could coax him into a paper bag. Matthew was the hero who did get the bird in the bag, and then deposited him outside by his very loud momma bird who was waiting for him.

This picture reminds me of that Dr. Seuss book, Are You My Mother? I found the book on our bookshelf, read it, and then chuckled because even though Kamryn does not look like me, I am most definitely her mother. Even though I do not look like my parents, they are most definitely my mother and father. It’s the parent-child relationship and bond that is the most important factor to me and what ultimately clinched our decision to follow the dream to adopt from China. Growing up, I never hid the fact that I was adopted, and always felt lucky & blessed that I was given two loving parents who would go to the end of the earth for me. Now I feel lucky & blessed to have been given the gift of a Chinese little girl to mother, in addition to my wonderful biological sons.

I admit it is fun to see the same characteristics in the boys as Kevin or me and to try to figure out who they look like. The whole “inherited traits” thing is fascinating, but most fascinating is how God orchestrated it all to be this way. Before we received Kamryn, I would pray that she fit in with our family and would blend with us well. She totally does, and it’s obvious to us that she just belongs with our family. It’s fun to see her liking music as much as we do and just overall having the same temperament as the boys. Again, it’s fascinating to me how God can perfectly match hearts. Our three children are all different and have unique personalities, and I love them all the same. That confirms to me that I’ve always had a healthy perspective about my adoption. Love is what is important to me, and not whether or not we look like our mothers and fathers. I do hope that Kamryn will someday feel the same way.