Please, Don't Pee in My Cheerios.

I have a mini-vent to release before I go back to my regularly scheduled Monday night of laundry and vacuuming. First a disclaimer: the inspiration from this vent is not from someone in our life who would be reading this blog. Just an acquaintance with some adoption experience. Nevertheless . . .

Please, if you have an adoption nightmare story, keep it to yourself. No, I do not feel the need to "call the social worker and ask about the statistics of birthmoms changing their minds." Nor do we plan to "not see the baby until parental rights are terminated." And we know all about those birthmoms who decide to parent at the last minute. Trust me, we get it. It happens and it could happen. We're not living in a bubble or some fairyland. We've been working on this adoption for 16 months now, and in that time, we've read books, attended lectures, and followed dozens of adoption stories. We've heard heart-breaking stories and been terrified that this will happen to us.

But we've also heard wonderful, happy stories. We've seen beautiful children join overjoyed families. It does happen, and for now, we're just having faith that it will. What's the alternative?

Just as you wouldn't lecture a pregnant woman about how many pregnancies end up in stillbirths or miscarriages, don't freak us out and make us more anxious about the coming weeks. We're happy . . . we're excited . . . we're hopeful. Please let us (and by "us" I mean all prospective adoptive parents) enjoy it. If you have something negative to say, bite your tongue, cross your fingers, say a prayer, whatever, but please be kind.