Adoption, Not "Funny"

I have to say I'm a little angry right now. My husband and I are watching Chelsea Lately (it's the first time I've watched it), and the first segment was all about Angelina Jolie. The usual; slamming her, her kids, and of course all the adoption jokes. I have a great sense of humor, but I just can't get into the ridiculous frame of mind that most others seem to be when talking about Hollywood moms. Namely the ones who have adopted. They say that Angelina bought her children, and that it's the "in" thing in Hollywood. I know actors have been known to be shallow, but to say that someone is choosing to adopt a child just because everyone else is, is just plain stupid. Yes, I am a fan of Angelina Jolie, and of some other actors who have adopted, but that's not why I defend them. I defend them because of the message the media is sending to our adopted children.

You would think, in a world where gay marriage is now legal in five states, in a time when the first bi-racial President is in office, and the country is more accepting of differences than ever before, that adoptive parents and children would not have to face negative responses, or ignorance regarding the subject.

I shouldn't have to worry about what to tell my son, if he sees something in the media about how Angelina Jolie, Madonna, or Nicole Kidman, among others like to "buy" their kids from Africa or elsewhere, because it's the popular thing to do. It not only calls the sincerity of the adoption into question, but turns a life changing event into nothing more than a trip to the pound.

Children who have been adopted have it rough enough, growing up, without the media adding to their identity, security, or self esteem issues. What's worse, is when these actors' children are attacked themselves. That sinks to an all-time low. In the segment I watched, they put up a picture of one of Angelina's kids threatening Brad Pitt not to leave. They used an obviously over dramatized Chinese accent (which was not even the child's correct country of origin).

I just don't get it. I don't. As an adoptive mother, I find it very hard to stomach ignorance on a topic that, in my eyes, should be very easy to understand. Especially to other mothers. There are children in this world who need love, guidance, a home. And there are adults in this world who want to give it. Whatever their reason is, it's their own. If they have the money to support TWENTY children, so be it. It's no one's business. There are far less famous people who have done just that. Anyone ever listen to the radio at night and hear Delilah, a night-time radio show that plays love songs by request? It's a syndicated show. Anyway, she has adopted somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20 children. Yet you never see bad press about her. Because there SHOULDN'T be. The same is true for the others.

My suggestion is, rather than take a beautiful thing and taint it, turning it into something a child would be ashamed of, the media ought to focus their efforts on HELPING children. Find the ones who are lost, or missing, and help the ones who have been abused or murdered by bringing their abusers and murderers to justice. Make the world a better place for them, not a harder one.

Hello, my name is... OOO look at that pretty bird!!

Umm, Hi. I've never blogged before, so I'm kind of stumbling a bit, figuring this out. It never really occurred to me to try blogging. I thought, why would I want to? What would I write about? People don't want to hear about my boring life! They don't want to hear my ideas!

Then the other day my cousin (HI PAULA!) joined and started blogging. And, well, here I am. I'd try just about anything she tries, because I love her. And if she's doing it (and liking it), then it must be fun. We live far away from each other, but we were like sisters growing up, so we are still close in a lot of ways, and like to keep in touch as much as possible.

I told myself, I'll just treat this as 1/3 diary, 1/3 creative writing, and 1/3 speech class; without the scary "standing at the head of the class" part.

Here goes. My name is Rachelle, and I'm an alcoholic - OH... wait! That's something else...Give me a sec.

**Clears throat**

As I described in my profile, I am a married, 36-year-old mom of one son. He is 2 1/2 years old. He'll be 3 in July. Yay! And Boo! He's growing too fast! My husband and I adopted through an awesome adoption agency in Texas. The largest and oldest in the country.

Side note:If you are thinking or planning to adopt, OR if you are pregnant and thinking about making an adoption plan for your baby, please contact these people! The Gladney Center for Adoption. They are wonderful to both birthmothers and adoptive families!

http://adoptionsbygladney.com/

Okay back to the story. My son's name is Logan and he is 2 1/2. He acts every bit of it too! I am always pulling my hair out. Most times I feel like a horrible mom, because it seems like all I ever do is yell! But we have lots of happy times, don't get me wrong. He is my entire life. I can't imagine living without him.

My husband's name is Aaron. We have been together for 13 years, this year! Wow, long time. I don't think about that too often, so when I do, it even surprises me. We've only been married for 4 years. Well, 5 years this October. I was married once previously. I may write about that in the future; it was a very short marriage.

Anyway, my husband and I have a love/hate relationship. Maybe a lot of couples are like that. At least I hope we're not the only ones. We bicker a lot! But we also joke a lot! Many times our bickering is a form of joking. It's very hard to explain. Whatever it boils down to, as much as we annoy each other, I love my husband very much and would be lost without him. We are opposites in many ways, but a lot of our core personality traits are very similar.

Now about the anxiety and ADHD! I love psychology! Strange. Given the fact that I'm apparently a mental case. I say that in jest. But most days I can't help thinking I really am.

Technically, (according to my therapist... does that make the nutcase theory official?) I've been diagnosed with anxiety, ADHD- Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder , mild depression, and mild OCD- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. After all that, you're probably thinking "why doesn't someone throw that b**ch in a rubber room??" But really- I'm very normal... It's common to have a combination of two or more of the aforementioned issues, because they are all in the same part of the brain. In other words, they are all related to each other. Now, whether or not four is normal...

I have a great sense of humor. I appreciate the funny things in life (I can even laugh at myself most times). Even if I'm the only one who's laughing. Not everyone "gets" it. Thankfully my best friend (my little sister) and a few other people who are important in my life, like PAULA, do! And share in my laughter.

Warning: I am a horrible story-teller. I am famous for taking a 1 minute story and stretching it into a 10 minute stumbling, rambling, opus that veers in 10 different directions. None of them leading to the original ending intended. I blame this on my ADHD. Warning ended. Please continue.

If you are interested in a bit of my past please continue. If not, eh, thanks for reading this far. Maybe I'll catch ya' on the flip side.

First of all, I was born on New Years Eve 1972. Holla!! Party time! Except... I'm not a party girl. Oh well. I was for about 2 years back in my younger days. Whoopee.

My parents divorced when I was young. I was 3 or 4 years old. My mom remarried a man who was a police officer at the time she met him (they met when he pulled her over for speeding...nice. Talk about radar love), and I think he was still in the Army reserves. Not really sure how that worked but shortly after, he went full-time in the Army again, and quit being a cop.

I've lived in many cities, in several states, and I've traveled to several countries (not military related, just for fun). I've lived a pretty full life for as young as I am, really.

I am a 23 year cancer survivor!! That's something I'm definitely happy about. I had ovarian cancer when I was 14-years-old. I consider myself especially lucky, since ovarian cancer is termed "the silent killer." I'm grateful, in my case at least, that it wasn't quite so silent. That's another story for another day. I had an epiphany one day when Logan was a baby, about my cancer, and how it related to my being a mother, my purpose in life, and so forth. But it's too long to tell for now.

Other notables... I love to read! I like a bit of everything. Some Science Fiction, Horror, Suspense, Contemporary Fiction, some Non-Fiction, some History, some Biographies, etc. (However, I have an unusual fascination for all things dark and disturbing, so I lean toward horror and suspense).

Favorite shows are currently Dexter, Californication, and of course Ghost Hunters! But not Ghost Hunters International. Bleh!

Okay I think that's it for now. I'm itching to go read my current book (The Host by Stephenie Meyer) before my son wakes up from his nap, and demands to go play with his Play-doe, or go out on his play-set.

If you're still with me, and not sleeping at this point, I guess I'll take that as a good thing! This was kinda fun, so I look forward to exposing myself more in the future. Haha. Later.