My mom was the international director at an adoption agency most of the time I was growing up. I worked there after school in high school, not to mention my sister is adopted from China.

The one thing in my experience that I noticed again and again, weren't the "issues" children had. Despite all the fears and assumptions. These kids just wanted to be loved most the time. It was the adoptive parents who were nuts.

There was one couple in particular who adopted boy/girl siblings then tried to "return" the girl but keep the boy, because they thought he was a "better fit" for them. Unfortunately, it's not a rare situation either.

It always made me so angry and still does when I hear rumors about the kids being the problem in adoptions when they're nothing more than slaves to their circumstance.

But the parents treat adoption as if it's like picking out a puppy from the pound, and/or expect the children to be perfect little angels who never act out because they're just soooooooo thankful for their adoptive parents "saving their lives"

I totally agree with you that adoption isn't talked about or considered, often enough. There are so many misconceptions about it. It's a wonderful option, but there also needs to be a lot more information and discussion. People need to educate themselves about the process and what it means.

Sorry for the rant. You wrote a wonderful article Casira. I guess I apparently feel strongly about it haha