Happy Birthday

Yesterday, our little girl turned three. There were no hugs, no kisses. There was no cake, no party, and no presents. Instead, there was an intense sadness knowing that no one acknowledged her special day in any way. She spent her day as she does every other day. We spent the day longing to have her here. As hard as it is to long for her each day, I know that I am the fortunate one. One day, I will have her here with me. Somewhere in China, she has a mother that gave birth to her and was then forced to give her up. Because it is illegal to place a child for adoption, parents must abandon them. They do this by choosing a very public place, usually a street corner, near a police station or orphanage, and then laying their child down and walking away. Most likely, her mom chose to do this because she has medical needs that could not be met in any other way. For many, many poor families, abandoning a child is the only chance the child has to get medical care.  Most likely, her mom also spends her days longing for this child. While my arms ache to hold my daughter, I do realize that I am so much more fortunate than her birth mother. I will hold her, love her, and share her life with her. Somewhere on the other side of the world there is a mother who marks her child's birth date with tears and sorrow. She wonders how she is doing, if she is safe, and if she has a family that loves her. I really wish it were possible to let this mother know that we are doing everything that we can to bring her child home. I wish that we could let her know how important her little girl is to us. As much as I worry and wonder about our little girl, I know that somewhere there is another mother whose fears are even greater than my own. Today, I pray that there is peace for this mom. I cannot imagine having to lay my child on a street corner and walk away so that there would be a chance that my child could survive. I am so very grateful that this mother found the strength to make such a hard choice.