One More Home

Dossier:   (a) One of those elusive words in the international adoption world that includes one syllable that sounds sophisticated and French because the 'r' is silent and the 'e' says 'a', but really it's    (b) One massive stack of paperwork wherein you become the most organized creature on the planet, compiling every ounce of marital, financial, physical health and mental stability certification and verification needed and then, after having each piece emblazoned with a golden seal that you traveled miles to obtain, you are forced to send it out into the world wanting nothing more than to hand deliver it to every stop it must make because this has become your "Precioussss" and no one else is responsible enough to touch it! Okay, so maybe I don't quite look like Gollum just yet.....This, my friends, is what our dossier really does look like: 2013 According to our updated home study that's the first date that we contacted L...

Dear Child, I must confess that I don’t know your name. I’m not even sure if we were introduced to one another, and even if we had been, with the many names that had been given to me in softly spoken syllables, I’m not sure I would be able to recall yours. But, I could pick out your face. In a crowd of children, I would remember you. Standing under the brilliant Haitian sun, the heat causing the skin of my back to sweat, I can recall the moment one little body pressed itself against my side and wrapped slender arms around my waist. A tiny little sun adding its rays to the one overhead. Big brown eyes, so bright and shining that I could barely make out the outline of the pupils, and a smile full of teeth that were still those of a child, not yet making way for the expressions you’ll have when you’re older. I hope you know I tried. I came with the best of intentions when I stepped aboard that plane a week ago. You were a point of focus for me – go love the children w...