Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Last year, early in the morning on March 17, my phone rang. I was awakened at 5:30 a.m. by a familiar voice -- one I hadn't heard in a while, but recognized immediately. It's not unusual in my world to get early morning calls, and I have no problem waking up to hear the news of a baby being born. That kind of news never gets old. Rosa was on the phone. Even though she had stopped by the office a few months before, she had not told us she was pregnant. Actually, it was the second time she had called me from the local hospital after giving birth. She knew we were there, and even though she knew the process, waited until the baby was actually born before she called. I'm not sure why she waited, since she already knew us from the previous placement, but some birth moms just don't really want to think about it until it can no longer be put off. So, with the news that she had just given birth to a baby girl, Rosa asked if we could help her find a good family once again. Normally when a full or half sibling is being placed for adoption, we try to check with the family who has the first one, in case the siblings can be together, but in this case since there was no warning, there was no current home study in place, so we began the search for the right family. We didn't have to look far.

Kristin and Keith had experienced a terrible disappointment prior to beginning their adoption process with us. Rosa immediately liked them and wanted to help heal their hearts. They left West Virginia with hope in their hearts and more than a little trepidation. Rosa was so grateful to meet and see them bonding with the baby. It was a lovely match. Soon they got past their fears of another failure and baby Kylie quickly became the center of her parents universe! I have to laugh when I think back on it. Keith actually jumped up to change the first dirty diaper! I imagine that the novelty of that has worn off by now. It was great to have one of our families out here in California and I was able to spend some time with them and enjoyed seeing them happily learning about their first born. Kristin brought tears to my eyes as she said to Keith, who was holding baby Kylie, "Honey, we never could have done anything so perfect." At that moment, a mother was born. I knew that Kristin was as much Kylie's "real" mother as Rosa. I know Rosa knew that too, as she thanked Keith and Kristin for giving Kylie a good life and being her parents.

As it happened, I was headed out to Pittsburgh the following week and they got clearance from ICPC to go home just in the nick of time to fly with me. It was great to hear the flight attendants fussing over baby Kylie. In the airport, a woman came up and looked at Kristin and Keith (who are very light complected Caucasian people) and said to Kristin, "Oh, you look great for just having given birth!". Kristin had us all laughing with her response. She said, "Hellllllo! This baby is Hispanic, so I can't take credit for giving birth, but isn't she beautiful!?". And she is. A little Hispanic leprechan born on St. Patty's Day. Kylie not only got two great parents, she will have an extra "aunt and uncle" and will get to grow up knowing her full sibling, who lives not far away.

So, Kylie's birthday will always be linked with that date for me. Happy first birthday, Kylie! May the road rise up to meet you! Happy St. Patrick's Day!