I didn’t think I had it in me to get on the other side of the adoption process. It seemed so massive. So overwhelming. So emotional. I felt guilty for not having my “stuff” together to parent this child. I beat myself up and punished myself for not being the adult I felt I should have been. How could I be pregnant and not be able to provide for this child?
Somehow Graceful Adoptions took something that is massive and made it easy and approachable. Actually, they restored my faith in humanity and left me in a better place than I was before I met them.
Rewind a few months. When I took the over-the-counter pregnancy test, the pregnancy indicator showed immediately – before the control line showed. The doctor verified what I knew was true – I was pregnant. Not a little pregnant, I was six months along. This fact was super hard to wrap my head around. How could I be that far along and not know? I put a transmission in a car and was working just prior to the shut down for COVID.
My boyfriend and I considered parenting for two seconds. We were not working, we had no car to take the child to follow-up doctor appointments, and our home situation wasn’t optimum. There was no family to consider. Abortion was not an option.
It was obvious adoption was the best option, but I had no idea how to approach an adoption, how to find an agency to work with, or even the requirements to work with an adoption agency. I thought I needed to pay the agency for someone to take on my responsibility. I soon discovered that everything I thought I knew about adoption was wrong.
I feel like a lot of adoption agencies are cookie cutter, like going to the DMV to get your license. Graceful Adoptions didn’t feel like that. In one call, they took something that was an uncomfortable process and made it personal – about what I wanted. They care. They are just people wanting to help other people. For someone who suffers from anxiety and getting overwhelmed easily, especially with processes that I don’t understand, I never felt overwhelmed or anxious. I always had another thing to do that wasn’t too big or daunting.
Because of their diligence and careful acceptance process, we knew that every family we were presented would be great parents and had the ability to provide more opportunities than we could ever dream of providing. The family we selected stood out to us from the beginning. We have found them to be down to earth, kind, and a beacon of positivity. They even laugh at my sarcastic questions. Like Graceful Adoptions, they are real people.
We loved that we got to spend time with the parents we selected prior to the birth, during our hospital stay, and after placement. Our communications and interactions have given us the peace and reassurance we made the right decision, both about making an adoption plan and about the parents we selected.
Anyone not in a position to parent should at least consider adoption. There is no shame in admitting you can’t raise a child. Part of being a good parent is admitting when you are not ready to be one.
If you find yourself considering adoption, Graceful Adoptions should be the only agency you call. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I would have never made it through the process without this adoption agency. They have helped change my perception of myself and in others.
Mackenzie
Newport News, VA
