I’m Proud.

I see these quotes and memes that attempt to set the standard that foster and adoptive moms are no different than biological mothers.

I get it.

I understand the stigma these foster/adoptive moms feel.

I am both.

I understand that in your mind these words make you feel less than, or that somehow your family isn’t a family because it wasn’t built on blood. That’s not what you believe, but that’s how you feel other people think. Sadly, some people do feel that way. I never realized there could be so much negativity around something I had always viewed as positive.

We took all the classes, got the back ground checks, shots and fingerprinted, and we did the mountains of paperwork. We let strangers dissect our home and our pasts. We welcomed it. We welcomed it because we wanted them.

We get to tell our children, we picked them. We said yes to them. To them, specifically. I’m not sure there’s a greater sense of being than feeling chosen.

No, I don’t want my son calling me “adoptive mom” or my daughter calling me “foster mom.” I don’t do that to them. However, I am proud to be an adoptive/foster mom. I’m proud I made the leap of faith into this crazy world. It’s not the same as being a biological mother, it’s not, it’s different. But that’s okay.