Yesterday's Conversation

Yesterday was our two year Anniversary of Chloe joining our family. We picked Chloe and Pearl up from daycare early and decided to go out for Chinese food to celebrate. Chloe didn't want to eat at the local restaurant, so we went into the big city (of Bakersfield) to go to PF Changs (maybe not the most authentic food, but fancy atmosphere).

Afterward, we took the girls to their favorite playground nearby. There was another family playing with their adorable curly-blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter and she kept staring at Chloe and I playing on the swing. She looked to be about Chloe's age and size, and I later found out that she was more than a year younger, not even two.

Typically, Chloe is not very social outside of our home, so I was a bit surprised when she struck up a conversation with the family. Pointing across the way, she exclaimed, "That's my sister Pearl. We got her in China. I'm from China. My mom and dad adopted me."

Totally shocked and a bit embarrassed, all I could do was laugh. The other mother got a big smile on her face and enthusiastically proclaimed, "This is our daughter Hannah. She is adopted too."

Chloe's use of English isn't usually that clear and understandable, and I wasn't even sure she was hearing us when we talked about how she joined our family. Not only was she listening, but I think to some extent, she was comprehending as well. It was rewarding and heartwarming to hear her say it with pride, like it was something special.

We were the only two families on the playground that evening. I remember being curious at seeing both parents so actively engaged in their daughter's play, and somehow, this now seemed to make more sense to me. It seems like adoptive parents tend to fawn over their children a little more than most bio parents. I realize this is an overgeneralization, because most parents love and adore their children. It just felt like more than a coincidence that we were the only two sets of parents playing with their children in the park on a Wednesday evening. I think my rationale is that adoptive parents had to work really hard to become a family and exerted a lot of effort, expense and subjected themselves to scrutinization. Many bio families don't even plan; life just happens.