Life as a Pinball

A home for Sapphire

In my home and Native land, M___ and D_____ wanted to start a family.They’d been married for over a year and felt ready to become parents.M___ loved to snowmobile and cook.D_____ loved to play with make up and paint.

M___ & D_____

It seemed that the Universe had other plans for them.After trying for a child, M___ and D_____ were unable to conceive a child of their own making.Challenges would arise, and the pressure weighed heavily upon their shoulders.How could they create their family now?

There were options. Routes that they could take to achieve their goal.In vitro fertilization, surrogacy, foster care… and adoption.But how many of us who have chosen a pet to love and care for would be able to send them away? Neither could they. D_____ discovered that she had endometriosis.Blood lines weren’t a necessity.They were prepared to research adoption.

National Adoption Symbol

They met with a Children’s Aid social worker.Questions were coming at them from every direction in any context.What options have you considered?Private? Public? Or International?They chose public.Photos of children within the age, gender, and ethnicity range they’d hope for were shown to them.

•The waiting period before being approved for adoption as a suitable family, may take between two months to two years or more.

• There is no cost to adopting publicly.

•More children available for public adoption are older than infancy.

Meanwhile…

I’d been living in a Foster home for two and a half years with a family.

Me (:

In the photo below I’m sitting in front of my foster sister, to the left of a family friend who’s in front of my foster mom and to the left of her is her mother.

Christmas with Foster Family:Foster Brother and Foster Sister

M___ and D_____ drove up in Northern Ontario to visit me on my sixth birthday. June 25th, 1996.I was living in a town called Timmins. (fun fact: Shania Twain was born there)I played with D_____’s lipstick that she carried with her. Purple was my favourite shade.And M___ and I played with his hacky sack on the front lawn.It was a match made in heaven.

The Adoption was approved!

As a brand new family, our first trip together was to Niagara Falls. (:

Welcome to me! And thank you for watching/reading part of my life’s journey! (:

Note: lipstick smeared on my face. Affectionate death grip around my bestfriend.