My husband hates this part of the story, because he hates Oprah. How can that be, you say? Who can hate Oprah? But, yes, he does because she's one of those Hollywood liberals, blah, blah, blah. Oh, get over it already, I always tell him. I love her because she's making a difference in so many people's lives--that's worth something, even if she is a democrat, right?
Sadly, now he has to admit she definitely made a difference in our lives, a huge one--liberal agenda and all :)!
It was January 29, 2007 and I was working out watching Oprah, something I never have time to do, but that day the stars aligned so that I could. On the show that day were families from North Carolina who had adopted older boys from a country called Liberia. Their country was war torn and destitute. The boys were part of a choir performing in the U.S. (the link:
http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200701/20070129/slide_20070129_350_106.jhtml)
when their orphanage was attacked in Liberia. Several families stepped up and adopted the boys. I was breathless from the story, not just because it was a great story, nor because I was working out, but because I suddenly knew what my dream all those years ago had meant. I was supposed to adopt a little boy from Liberia. I probably wouldn't have ever in a million years picked that one out on my own, but at that moment, I knew it was my calling. Following the show, I immediately began searching the internet.
I can't even quite explain what guided my actions for the next two weeks. I became a woman possessed. It was literally like I was being pushed from behind. I researched, read, joined chat groups, studied, ultimately becoming completely immersed in adoption and Liberia. The funny thing is that with all my geographic studies, I had never really learned anything about Liberia--wasn't even exactly sure of its location off the top of my head. As I studied the history and their recent tragedies, I couldn't believe that I had never known. It's a story everyone should know.
I tried to talk to Brian about it, but it was the worst possible timing. He was so stressed with school. He was in the most difficult two weeks of the most difficult semester of the most difficult school in the military. My timing couldn't have been worse. He was furious with me at first and didn't take me seriously. He would run when he saw me coming, that's how much he wanted to discuss the possibility of adoption.
The truth was, the timing was ridiculous. My baby had just turned a year old, Brian was gone about 90+ hours a week with school and studying, and we were moving (at that time we didn't know where) in 6 months. At one point, I decided that it would be best to wait for at least one year before we started our homestudy. The day I made that decision, I was so sad, cranky, and just downright angry for no reason at all--I felt horrible about it and I couldn't explain it. The next day my Aunt Nancy called to answer some of my questions about adoption. After I hung up the phone, I decided that I would continue forward despite the timing. Despite the nonsensical timing of an adoption, I was filled with immediate peace. Now for convincing Brian. . .
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