So something else noteworthy happened this weekend.
First, a little backstory, I was told when we applied to the Holt Thailand program that it was a very small program. It’s my understanding that only about 20-25 children are referred from Thailand through Holt each year, and that includes families adopting from the US and several European countries.
After being accepted into the program, I went on Facebook and the message boards and had a great time connecting with other parents in this program across the US–most of whom are also new to the program, are waiting for travel to bring home their kiddo, or have brought their child home in the last year or so. I kept asking around to see if anyone lived at all near me. Would my child ever be able to play with another THAI child? I found a Thai adoptive family an hour north and one an hour south. Someone mentioned another family near my town but the details were mushy.
This last Saturday during our sale, a woman on a bike (wearing a helmet-good job) rode up to our sale with a kid trailer and a couple kids on bikes. I halfway noticed her see our sign that said “100% of profits will go to our Thailand Adoption.” She walked straight up to me and said “Who are you adopting through?” I told her and her jaw dropped. She then introduced herself and her 3 adorable children, ages 9, 5 and 4. Two of whom, girls 9 and 4, were adopted through Holt Thailand. She just kept saying “It is SUCH a small program! I can’t believe this!” We talked for a few minutes about adoption stuff, and I’m even going with her to an adoptive moms’ night out next week. Then she said, “Do you know where I live? In that house right there.” People, she lives RIGHT BEHIND ME. If I stand up from this computer and look out the window I can see into her kitchen–not that I’m spying on you, J. 😉 I was practically shaking!
Why did we choose Thailand? I’ve never had a really specific answer for that, other than we prayed about it a lot, I felt it in my gut and we just decided it was the best choice for us. Now we have a family about 20 yards from our back door who have walked through the EXACT journey we are on–twice–who are thrilled to share their story with us. Our kids will be different ages, but we will have a Thai connection (very) nearby. I’m thinking that Carson, Sydney and Peanut may have a Thai babysitter someday soon. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! Uh, yeah. Feels a lot like confirmation to me!