Day 14

Day 14. My Squad

We are fortunate and very blessed to have had supportive family, friends, and a church body rally around us when we announced our adoption plans. Even with this excellent cheering squad, I knew I needed something more in terms of support. During our wait, I stumbled upon the amazing China adoption community on Facebook. Suddenly I found people who had walked the same path, had insights and knowledge to share, and were eager to answer questions and encourage a newbie. And one way I was encouraged was to find real life community to walk beside me when we brought our daughter home. I had a few close friends who were adoptive mamas but I was looking for an organized group somewhere- anywhere- within driving distance. My search yielded nothing. There were no support groups, mom meet ups, church ministries that I could find. So I started some. I recruited help and started a facebook group for families in our area. We launched a support group at our church which is slowly growing into several groups and a wrap around ministry. And I started organizing moms night outs- anyone, anywhere along the adoption journey was welcome to meet up at a local restaurant or coffee shop to build community. My squad was forming. I now had my virtual community and my real life people and sometimes those two intersected. I discovered adoptive parent retreats- Created for Care, Refresh, and Tapestry are some that come to mind. I try to attend at least one a year now. And this past fall we hosted our own adoptive mom retreat- one night away in the mountains to connect, rest, and build community. We need each other. This life is challenging, isolating, and just plain absurd at times. And it helps to know there are others who understand your successes and failures. My squad is diverse, virtual and real life, church- based and secular, young and old. But we are all knit together by adoption ;)