A little bit about this choice. The abridged version.
I always wanted to adopt a child. I cannot really say why, it just seemed like a good way for family to happen. I was never sure that it would work out for me. Without even looking into the process, I knew it would be lengthy and require certain organization skills that I do not have. I figured it was out of my financial reach. But about two years ago, I began exploring it a bit. From the periphery. I considered it research. I figured that I was finding out about a choice I may not make, just gathering information on the adoption landscape. Months later, a social worker deactivated me. Apparently I wasn't very active...
Being told I would be put into another file, one perhaps labeled "people probably not adopting" got under my skin a bit. So a year after I began just visiting the idea, I took a few steps forward. Meanwhile, the program I preferred had become closed to me. I spent a school vacation calling agencies, researching programs and countries. I made choices that had the weight of the world on them (to me, at least). And I made choices that I was not sure how much they mattered. Eventually, I commit to a country, one that my family and I, and possibly you, will forever be tied to. I also commit to yet another adoption agency. I never really believed it would happen. And I certainly could not imagine that one year later I would find myself readying my house for my baby girl.
There it is, my adoption story, the very short version.