Melody Joy came to us from our good friend Kathryn. Her cat had a litter of kittens and she offered one to us. We went to visit the mama cat and the kittens and picked Melody out because she liked to explore, was a little fiesty and seemed to bond with us. After that, we worked out the details with Kathryn when she would come home with us. While we were waiting, we prepared our home for our new arrival. We bought kitten food, a litter box, kitten treats and a whole lot of cat toys. We tried to kitten proof our home as much as possible. We were excited and counted down the days until Melody would be home with us. Finally the big day arrived and we brought Melody home. Kathryn sent a blanket with her that she had rubbed on the mama cat and sibling kitties. That way Melody would have a comforting scent to help her adjust to her new home. Kathryn and her kids came over to visit Melody and lavish some love on her. And now, even though we live across the country- they still check on her and I post pictures on facebook for them to see.
Melody as a kitten |
Melody, now one year old |
Melody's story makes me think of the matching process of adoption. There is an intial contact with a birth mom. You get to know each other for a while and if all goes well a connection is made. A match meeting is set up and and the details of the adoption are talked about. There is time to prepare and lots of anticipation surrounding the birth of the new baby. There is ongoing contact before and after the birth. There is a shared love and joy and a committment to each other. The match is just the beginning of an ongoing and ever evolving relationship.
Our beautiful friend Kathryn and her family-Joey, Kara, Mathew, Quinten, Kiana and husband Colin |
Aria Hope came to us in an entirely different way. Jim works as a Chaplain at a prison. He was walking out to the car on Friday and heard a cat crying. Walking down the hallway, was an officer carrying a very squirmy, very upset little kitten. She had been found in the prison and the officers were trying to decide what to do with her (take her to the humane society or drown her in the river). Jim didn't like either of the choices they were contemplating and offered to take her. Ten minutes later he shows up at home with this tiny, adorable kitten and "poof" we are pet parents again. Not a lot of time to decide whether we were ready, not a lot of information to go on, just an instant love for this squirmy little kitten who needed a home. We took her to the vet to make sure she was healthy, made a trip to Walmart to get the essential supplies we needed, and called family members with a "Guess what? We have a new kitten."
Aria Hope already settling into her new home |
Aria's story reminds me of last minute hospital placements. With a last minute placement there is not a lot of time to prepare. You don't always have a lot of details. And you have to make a quick decision. One phone call and your world suddenly changes..."poof" you are parents! There are last minute trips to walmart for diapers and other essentials and joy-filled calls to family and friends announcing the good news. Hopefully, there is a meeting with the birthmom and connection can be formed that will lead to ongoing contact and relationship. But that doesn't always happen and you have to be prepared to have some missing pieces in the information of your child's birth.
Isn't she adorable |
Proud pet parent for a second time |
I think it's the same with adoption...when we adopt, our child will have his or her own unique story. We may have a lot of information and months to bond and anticipate or we may become parents suddenly and unexpectedly with very little information to go on. But it really doesn't matter, because we already have a love that's been growing in our hearts for our little one. Not a day goes by that we don't long to have our baby home in our arms.
Well, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who compares cats and adoption! :) My husband & I had a cat for 7 years; he was our baby; we loved him and still do. But for us it just didn't make sense to keep him. He shed a ton and made other messes (you know!). On occasion he would bite and often tried to get outside. We were moving and together with being in a new place and hopefully getting a baby soon, we made the decision to find a different home for him. I made pros & cons lists, second-guessed myself, cried when I snuggled with him. But I still felt, all around, that it was the best decision. We collected all his stuff together, along with favourite fuzzy ball he likes to play fetch with, and brought him to my brother & sister-in-law's. My sis-in-law's cat had died a while ago and she was very much looking forward to having another cat. It was terribly hard parting with him. I truly felt we knew (and still do know) him best. I felt I was abandoning him and he didn't know why. This was about a year ago. Over time they changed his name which was hard on me because his name had meaning to us and he responded well to it. It's hard seeing him with a different "mama". But ultimately he looks happy, they're happy, and although I sometimes miss him, I feel it was the best decision for us. I feel kinda silly comparing cats & adoption, because honestly I know "it's just a cat". But the comparison's always in my mind anyway! :)
ReplyDeleteOh that is so sweet!!! Our pets really do become part of the family:)
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