Monday, January 29, 2007

Forever....

The word 'forever' has been on my mind a lot lately. Mostly because we finally, after all the waiting and waiting, watching and fighting, we have a court date!!! We will finalize the adoption of our children on Valentines Day. It's going to be a great day! It just so happens that our good friends will be celebrating the adoption of their son on the same day, in the same court, right after us!! I can't wait until this whole thing is finally done and over with.

So back to my word of the day:

The Random House Websters College Dictionary says that forever means "without ever ending...always."

As of Valentines Day, our kids will be ours 'forever."
We will be a forever family...
Nothing will ever separate us or come between us as a family.

So I finally have a forum to talk about something that has bothered me for a long time.
I have read elsewhere, in other blogs and forums, people critisizing the use of the phrase "forever family." It has been referred to as "corney" and "silly." It has been said that it just sounds too sappy. Well, that might be for some people, but for many, it is a phrase that means the world to them.

When our kids first came home, we were asked almost daily for the first two months if they were going to get to live with us "forever." These kids had been ripped away from not just one, but two homes. They had been moved hundreds of miles away from everything they had ever known. And all they wanted was to know that it would never happen again. And every once in a while, Destiny will say something like, "we get to stay with you forever, right mommy?"

Forever; always. Yes, baby, you get to stay with us forever. We are a forever family. You will never know that kind of heart ache again. You will never need to say good bye to us. We will 'always' be your mommy and daddy. And once that judge decrees it, we never have to look back.

You see, many people might find the use of the term 'forever family' silly, but to me and my children, it brings a sense of hope and security. To many children, it means never having to grieve another loss of family, it means they are safe in the arms of mom and dad.

And in just a couple of short weeks, we can finally call ourselves a forever family.
I like that word. Forever.
Did you know that in the Jewish tradition, biological children can be disowned but an adopted child can't? They are with that family forever, no matter what. No matter what they do, no matter where they go, they are always a part of that family. How awesome is that? A child who had nothing will always have something.


Adoption rocks.
And so does the word forever.

4 comments:

mandolyn said...

I think "Forever" is beautiful and I can't think of a better way to think about your family. I'll be thinking of all of you on Valentine's Day!

Lollipop Goldstein said...

I didn't know that about Judaism (and it's good to know since we're Jewish and looking into adoption).

I love this post and I love the word "forever." It's a pretty amazing concept--especially in a world that moves so quickly and becomes easily scattered. Those children are tied to you forever. And in turn, you are tied them forever. I can't begin to imagine how much that would mean to a child who has not experienced forever yet.

Here is the strawberry milk (since it's virtual and all). The last thought that has been bothering you--I didn't know if you'd want to talk about it here. Any time you want to vent, you know where to find me: thetowncriers@gmail.com.

But tomorrow is such a happy day. Congratulations :-)

mandolyn said...

It's Valentine's Day.

Happy Forever!

Stacie said...

Congratulations on your Forever Family. Happy Valentines Day. What a wonderful day of love for you and your forever!