It's Time to Meet His Mother

(If you are new to this story of my husband's adoption, you may want to start here, and read here and here)

I've said many times how special birthdays are to me. Before I had children, it was a time to celebrate and make a fuss over the people I love. Then I had Harper, and her birthday was even more than that...it was the day I met her, the day I first laid eyes on her, the day I held her for the first time, the day she took her very first breath.

The three days I met my beautiful children for the first time are etched in my heart forever. 

Ask any mom, and I'm sure she can recount every detail of the days her babies were born. 

But our babies don't remember any of it. They don't remember a moment when they met their mother, their mother has simply always been. 

This Friday, May 1st, is Chris' birthday. And on his birthday, he will meet his mother, again. But this time he will be able to remember every detail, to greet her and search her face for traces of himself. 

When we were trying to decide a time for her to come out and meet all of us, I couldn't think of a better day for it to happen than his birthday. When we first started communicating with J, she shared with me these words: 

I have to admit, when I read that I got teary-eyed. To know that on his birthday, every year, she thought of him with a mother's longing. And then to realize, of course she did. She wasn't able to take care of him then, so she made the only decision she could. But that doesn't mean she forgot him or didn't care. She is a mother, after all. 

I am beyond excited to witness this reunion. Just as children love to hear their mom tell the story of the day they were born, I can't wait to hear their story, a story they both share but only one of them knows how to tell...another puzzle piece that he will be able to fit into his life.

As a mom, I am so happy that J gets to see her boy on his birthday after all these years. 36 years from the day she last saw him. 

I'm not expecting Friday to be magical. If anything, it will probably be a bit awkward and uncomfortable at first. But it will be special.  And it's just the beginning.