Meebo, I too understand how you feel and like Sinsull I've been watching it happen for too many years. Sadly, its going to keep happening too. I will restrain myself from going off on a rant here. The faults in the system are simply beyond belief and though we have made progress toward "the best interest of the child" laws, the resolution of the problem is still far off. We have fostered almost 30 kids and we wonder all the time if we really made any difference at all.

But that brings up some interesting questions that adoptive parents get. Now I know that not all folks mean things the way they sound, and Karen and I are past being upset by any means, but you develop a sensitivity to the language people use because, to be truthful, adoption is still viewed as a bit unnatural in this country. Our two boys have grown up with a lot of other kids in the house and an ever changing family. You do get some interesting comments though.

"Do you have any children of your own?"
Yes, these two. "I mean do you have any natural children?"
Well, these two aren't aliens, ya' know?
"Well its so nice of you to give them a good home."
No, its nice of them to give us a good home.
"Do you know who their mother is?"
Yes (point to Karen), she is.
"No, I mean the real mother."
Like I said, Karen is.
"Well you know what I mean."
uh...yeah, I do.
"They look kind of alike. Are they real brothers?"
Well they certainly act like real brothers, but if you mean are they biologically related...No.

There's a ton of that kind of thing comes up all the time. I always push them a bit, then explain why adoptive families ARE natural families. I figure it never hurts to make folks squirm a bit first....makes them more receptive to truth. Did you know their are cultures where the royalty are all adopted? Birth children cannot hold the positions.

Spaw