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Our open adoption has opened the door to let me see and possess quite a few funny pictures of one Miss Munchkin. You see, in closed adoptions, mothers were left wondering if their child participated in anything that they had done as a child, what they were like personality wise and if they ever made funny faces (among a host of other wonders). While I have wonders and fears of my own, I am privvy to a lot of things that other mothers weren’t or aren’t and, quite frankly, I feel lucky.
Yes, the Munchkin is in dance, much like I was back in the day. Yes, she has an attitude that resembles a mish-mosh of mine, her mom’s, her dad’s and her own unique style. Yes, she makes funny faces. Oh, does she make the funny faces.
I was going to attend a dance class of hers but due to other things, I couldn’t attend. Someday I know I will get that chance. I wonder if I’ll be struck with as much emotion as I was when I looked at this amusing picture. You see, others may just see a funny picture of a girl at a dance class. I see myself. At that age. Making faces. In the mirror. At dance class. It’s strange to see myself, so vividly, in another little person who is not being raised in my home, under my roof. I am often taken aback by how something she says or does resembles things that I have done or said. When pictures look like ones I have taken in the past, I am caught off guard.
And yet, even if some cause tears (sometimes of humor!), I am so thankful for these pictures and experiences. I know I’m lucky. As a birth mother, there are those who feel I shouldn’t have access to anything that she does or says. I shouldn’t know that she’s in dance. Or that she sticks her tongue out while looking in the mirror. Or that she does resemble me in some ways. I should be left wondering as punishment and penance for an unwed pregnancy and then giving up my child.
Instead, I am blessed with pictures and visits and the knowledge that my daughter is being raised similarly to how I would have done the job. She’s taking dance. She knows the joy of making funny faces in the mirror. And oh, folks, the attitude.
Love is knowing that your daughter is who she is, no matter the location.
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For more Love Thursday, read:
1. Love Thursday: Creating Bonds.
2. Love Thursday: When Siblings Act Like Siblings.
3. Love Thursday: Nature and Nurture.
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Photo Credit: Munchkin’s Mom, ©2007.
Oh Jenna, she is TOO cute!!!