The Year I was made to be her Mama

One year ago today, I was in tears as I was being rolled into the OR. I thought I knew what to expect, I thought I knew how the recovery was going to go. But of course with anything, my expectations were thrown out the window and things have not gone as planned by any means.

One of the things that rocked me was the idea I was not a real mom without birthing my child. Or at least I did not think I was. I have grieved the loss, deeply grieved the loss. I know that in the long run this was the right decision, but it doesn’t mean that it does not come at a price.

The grief this past year has been intense, and only if you have been through this experience you will know what I am talking about. Coupled with the lack or a hormonal balance, I have felt a tremendous loss.

One of the lies that I came into believe was that I was not made to be H’s mama. She has been home for 28 months and I didn’t believe I was made to be her mama. Of course the unbalance of hormones along with my body stopping the production of all chemicals. And during this time, 13 people announced their pregnancies to us. My thought process pretty much went into shock and into a dark place. I believed and bought into the fact that my girl was not supposed to be mine. I believed I was not equipped to be her mama. And if we are going to be honest, I really didn’t want to spend time with her. I remember saying, I don’t know if we will make it through the summer.

By the grace of God the light is coming. Of course I am on hormone therapy, which has brought help, still working on it but a step in the right direction. There is finding those who make me feel safe to process with and then those moments of reflection and hearing the light spoke into my heart. I have learned to set boundaries in regards to protecting my heart during pregnancies and such. Serving people, loving people, celebrating people but on my own terms.

Since Hosanna came home, I have repeatedly had a dream that there was a dark cloud of Asians waiting at my front door to take her. It comes and goes, but it is intense, fear driven and rooted in something so much more than someone coming to take my kid. It is rooted in the depth of the past of not being worthy. That wound has been hit time and time again through people their actions, life circumstances and through my journey to motherhood.

One of the things that I have been walking through is my story and learning the similarities between my story and my girls’ story. Through, this along with prayer and just focus, I have seen that I was made to be her mama. And able to shut the door on that dream. I am good enough to be her mama, equipped with the right tools to be her mama.

·      My girl has labels already on her head, adopted, disabled, abandoned, orphan, etc.

   

   I have worn labels, not necessarily the same as hers. Labels that I should have never taken past the cross. And, so I can teach her not to do the same.

            I was made to be her mama!

·      My girl has experience trauma, abandonment, and hurts that cut deep into her heart.

I have experience with abandonment (the same as hers but the feelings of knowing) and various forms of trauma.

       I was made to understand and made to be her mama!

·      Her arm is sometimes a disappointment to her. Especially in the times that she is around other kids and gets frustrated.

My body has completely disappointment me. Let me down and frustrated me to all ends. I get what it means to be frustrated with your body.

I was made to be her mama!

There are other pieces of her story in relation to trauma, that I can understand because of some of my own trauma that I went through. Those however, will be saved for just us.

Grief is the other lesson that I learned this year, and the fact that it is ok. It is ok to grieve. It is ok to say I am not at my best today. It is ok to not have to put on a face for everyone. It is ok to cry out to Jesus and say why, or what is next. And as time goes on, little by little you heal and yet there will still be days where there is pain, that the heart twinges a little and you feel overcome with emotion. And that too is ok. I not quite sure why, but grief is one of those things that people shy away from, they run at the sight of people grieving, they lose words to say, or just get plain uncomfortable. And so those of us who are, feel as though they are on an island waiting for the boat to come and get us.

This year has been exhausting to say the least. I am still in a place of regret in regards to the surgery mainly because I can’t say that I have not felt normal yet. My body has changed in ways I can’t stand. My emotions flow like the great waves of the ocean. One that is still continuing because of on-going issues (rather exhausting if you ask me) And yet, this has been a year where I have dug deep in those oceans loosing myself in a different kind of healing process. I am better for it; I just wish It would have come a different way.

Jennifer

The Big Milestone

September 2, 2016

I have been eagerly trying to pen this post several times over the past 30 days. Having a block on the exact words to use as it is hard to explain this concept in my heart and the relief along with a feeling of accomplishment it brings.

The Day she was found

In late July, we finally reached an incredible milestone with our girl that would have only come with time, we have been a family longer than she was in the orphanage.

Adoptive parents know what I am talking about, the idea that you have had your child longer than they were in waiting. I know for some reading this blog there is probably a long sigh, as you are still in the trenches of the newness, or your child/ren were way older than mine and the fight for just simple trust continues to be fierce.  Being able to provide consistent love, learning, nourishment from the same people begins to squash and heal the wounds of the past.

I have seen the changes in my girl over the past 29 months. She no longer self-copes at night. There is no more sucking her thumb, rocking herself to sleep. There fear of not having food is dying, somedays almost feeling like it has gone. Her ability to love without condition of manipulation is slowly disappearing. Simple things like being able to sleep in her room despite her mama not being home that night.

We have seen a lot of growth in her recently, she is gaining her independence. Dressing herself, learning words in books, being able to voice her needs. She is in a place right now that if she is mad she is able to say so and take a break before her actions are tied in with consequences. We talk about feelings and with each passing day we talk through the story of our family.

Please don’t get me wrong, we are not perfect. What is written above has taken a lot of blood, sweat, tears and prayer. It has taken many late nights of sitting, rocking, sleeping on the floor, learning the ins and outs of what bonding really looks like. I have learned incredible things about the brain and attachment begin in the womb and grow beyond. I have learned how my past and present bonds affect my girl. I have been learning where to put boundaries in place and make her world small when needed. It has been rewarding at times and exhausting at others. It has been emotional and numbing. But in the end she is a little heart that I can see the cracks, hurts turning into joys and triumphs.

Of course I recognize that we have not done this alone. There is a village of people who have surrounded us and loved us through all the ups and downs. People I can text at night and say pray for her. People who rejoice when I can say “I got to rock my girl to sleep for the first time”. People who love my girl for who she is and the person that she is becoming without any stigmas hanging over her head.  

I really have no way to express the joy that this has brought me only to say we have been here longer than she was there. And for that, I am grateful for where we are. In just a few short days we will celebrate her turning the big old 5, it is our 3^rd birthday with her, and this year she is all in. Can’t wait!

Jennifer