Anticipation

In four days, on June 27, we’ll meet Isabelle for the first time. The day is finally almost here!

Friends have asked us recently how we’re feeling. We’re a definite mix of excited and nervous. The reasons for the excitement is obvious. I’m nervous, though, for many reasons. And, really, they’re similar to what many mothers have felt–and I felt–before giving birth. Will I be a good mother? Will I like him right away? Yet, this time, I’m also wondering if she’ll like me. 

There’s a very real chance that she might give us the cold shoulder. She might burst into tears at the very sight of us. 

As one adoptive father recently told me, she’ll need to grieve her lost relationships and that her grief means that she’s bonded with others in her life, which is a very good thing. Yet if she does indeed rebuff me at the beginning, I’m praying that I’ll be woman enough not to take it personally but to be gracious to understand what she’s going through... knowing that she’ll love me back someday.