From the moment we decided to adopt, I have been reading books about adopting (from the view of the adoptive parent) and going to yahoo groups to talk with other adoptive parents, and writing blogs to other adoptive parents. All of that was very good. Because I am adoptive parent and it helps to talk with others who have walked in my shoes and understand what I am going through, what I have gone through, what I soon will go through. I need that support, that camaraderie. It has made a huge difference in how I parent and how I think about things.
I’ve been lucky.
Most of the support and information out there is geared toward adoptive and prospective adoptive parents.
There are some blogs and books for first parents and adoptees, but not nearly as much. And, unfortunately, all too often the voices of those parts of the triad are labeled “angry” just for sharing their viewpoints. I don’t want that for my kids. I don’t want them to feel like they are alone, or be labeled “angry” just because they speak what is on their hearts. And I want them to have the chance to have friends who really get them – who have walked in their shoes and understand what they are going through. They need that support, that camaraderie, just as much as I ever did, probably more.
In an effort to help my children find that, we’ve attended local adoptive family get-togethers, gone to heritage camp, and this year I sent my daughter to Holt’s Adoptee Camp. All really good things. But each of those things ends, and then my kids go home to their “regular” friends who don’t share that perspective. (Sure, we exchange emails and phone numbers with friends they meet at camps and such, but it’s hard to maintain long-distance friendships, especially at their ages.)
But now there’s something new on the scene … something big and important and exciting. It’s called Gazillion Voices. Those voices? They’re Adoptees. And they are coming together to create an online meeting place, a magazine by, for, and about Adoptees. First parents and Adoptive parents are invited to participate too, but first and foremost, it’s an Adoptee thing. And I think it’s awesome. My kids are probably a little young for it now, so I’ll likely be the one doing most of the reading, at first. (And what a great opportunity – to listen to adult adoptees, to know better what my own kids might be thinking and feeling as they grow up.) But someday, probably not all that far off, I will step back, and my kids will take their own places at the table.
I want to be really sure this magazine, this new community of a Gazillion Voices, is there when they do, which is why I chipped in a little toward the Kickstarter campaign to launch it. There’s only a few days left and the goal has almost been reached. But there’s still time. Time for you to step up and show your kids how important their voices are. Trust me, it will be worth the investment.
Want to know more? Watch this video:
And you can check out their website: http://landofgazillionadoptees.com/ or their kickstarter page.
Let’s do this – for our kids.
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