The trust our daughter places in us

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Dancing Queen!
When Gladys and I met The Kid for the first time, we were nervous about how she would react. We promised ourselves that we wouldn't be disappointed if she didn't crawl over to us, or if she cried incessantly when she met us because that is what seven month olds do. Much to our surprise, our strategy of waiting for her to approach us worked well, because The Kid eventually creeped over to Gladys and fell asleep in her arms.

I never thought about how much she trusted us then, and how much she trusts us now until I read an iReport on CNN. The author, MamaHappyBee said this toward the end of her post:

Imagine if the moment that you met a new person – literally, the first moment you laid eyes on them – you were expected to live with them, trust them, rely on them for your every need, respect them, bond with them emotionally, and follow their rules. This is what children in care go through when they’re placed in a new foster home.
As adults, we don’t build relationships that way, not even friendships. We start small – “Hey, let’s get a coffee!” and then we get to know each other before we care, trust, and love. Kids in care don’t get that luxury. They are thrust head first into new places, with new people, new rules. Sometimes they’re in a new town. They sleep in unfamiliar beds in unfamiliar houses and eat unfamiliar breakfasts at unfamiliar places.

She was talking about her kids, who she fostered with her husband, and eventually adopted. Obviously, our situation as adoptive parents was different, due in part to The Kid being so young. She doesn't remember life without us, so it has become natural for her to trust us but I know that her trust could be lost in an instant.

By the way, if you are at all interested in adopting, I found myself yelling, "YES!" to myself to almost every point MamaHappyBee makes in her post. It is certainly worth your time reading.

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