A Story

Today is national adoption day. I would like to share a personal story. If you are not into that kind of thing, feel free to move on. I will be back to my mediocre math-ed musings in no time.

This is a story of a math teacher (that's me) and her husband, a principal of a small K-12 school. These two were struggling with infertility. There were four years of wanting to be parents, and no babies appeared.

This is the story of a courageous 16-year-old. She had an unplanned pregnancy, and she didn't know what to do. Others told her to end the pregnancy. She didn't want to. Instead, she carried that baby for nine months. She endured the judgmental stares of strangers as her stomach grew and her discomfort increased. She said no to the usual high school fun while she stayed home, ate healthy foods, and made regular doctor appointments.

She chose the principal of her little K-12 school and his math teacher wife to be adoptive parents. She went through hours (and hours) of labor. And then, she put her baby in that math teacher's arms.

Today, I am just so thankful for the gift that she gave us.
I am thinking about the sacrifices she made for the baby she wouldn't take home.

That baby is now three years old.
She's beautiful. She's smart. She's vivacious. She's hilarious.

We are pretty much head over heels.

And we were given the honor and privilege of guiding her through life.

I am feeling pretty grateful today.