Four years ago, while my now wife and I were dating, we discussed adopting another child. We both had already parented and had kids from our previous marriages aged 32, 22 and 15. Yet, there was a mutual drive between us to adopt a young child and help parent him or her into adulthood (I was hoping for a girl as I had never had the joy of raising one). So, after getting married, we went through the home study process and waited to see if our little angel would float down from heaven. (I use to tell people that I would drive by the park every morning hoping to see if a child had come down with the rain or snow.)
After several trials and tribulations with the adoption process (http://adventuredad.org/534/reflections/king-for-a-day/), we had just about resided ourselves to early retirement, travel and golf. Then, last August, while recovering from shoulder surgery, we received a call from the agency about a 7 year old girl. Just weeks later, we were meeting with her grandfather and talking about his desire for her to have a family who could nurture and raise her. Having lost his wife years earlier, he tried his hardest to parent her but realized it wasn’t going to work out.
After months of visits to Northern Colorado, little Lily moved in with us this past December. Things were rough at first as she was coming to grips with yet another loss and transition in her young life. Yet, we hung in there with lots of love, many fun adventures, security with her new parents, and loving siblings and a faithful dog. Most excitingly for me was watching Alex welcome her into his life as he came down from college on weekends and breaks. Many a fun adventure was had with Lily and her new brother.
This past July, we are excited to report that Lily became a permanent member of our family. I will never forget looking back at her when the judge asked me if we would adopt her. She smiled at us both and then gave us a big thumbs-up!
Lily continues to flower during this new school year. Surrounded by family and friends, she is thriving. We are looking forward to many a great adventure together and it’s been a whole new experience for me learning how to be the father of a girl. Believe me, if you have ever seen my golf game, you’d understand why this was the perfect choice for finding meaning and joy in this next phase of our lives!
