our village.

Remember the old saying, "it takes a village to raise child"? Well, in our case, it takes a village to bring a child home to us. 

Our village is perfect.

Just this weekend, Ryan and I started discussing how many people we've interacted with in regards to our adoption. Starting last August, we started researching and talking to people about this whole "adoption thing." Since then, we visited agencies, participated in webinars, made phone calls, went to a conference and talked (a LOT) with family and friends. Just thinking of all those people that have had a hand in us being parents is overwhelming to think about.

Our village is eccentric.

Besides all of the amazing professionals we've come into contact with, Ryan and I started talking about our personal village. Our family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances. Some of the people in this group have been there from Day one. From the day I was diagnosed with PCOS to the day where I was told "I'm sorry but, the pills aren't working." From the day we started researching agencies to the day that we chose. From our very first meeting to our final home study. Some people haven't been there. Some people in our lives have no clue what's going on, or only know because of what I share on social media or what they hear from others. It's inevitable that you will have those people, but those people are not in your village.

Our village is hilarious.

While discussing, I couldn't help but think about the fact that our village, our real, AMAZING village, had absolutely no say in being involved in this. Sure, they could be one of the ones that slowly disengages. They could ignore my blog, not call or text. But - that's the whole point of this post. Our village, our real, amazing village doesn't have a say. They would be there no matter what choice is made. But, at the end of the day, they had no choice in this. They are involved in this adoption journey no matter what. They have to hear about the meetings, the phone calls and the home inspections. They have to read the blogs, "like" the statuses and think of us when they hear "adoption." 

Our village is country-wide.

They don't have a say. They are a part of our journey. They know probably more than they'd ever want or need to know about adoption. Like us, some of them have gone from feeling like this is a big scary journey to one that is peaceful and amazing. They are advocates for family being about love, not biology. They are researching adoption and tagging me in adoption-related posts. They are asking questions, sending texts and constantly wanting updates. There are so many amazing people in our village. Our village is family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances. People who we never thought would be in our village, are in our village. 

Our village is strong.

I could never begin to thank our real, amazing village for all they do for us. People don't understand how much it means to us when people read this blog, comment/like on social media or send us a text. You are getting us through this crazy, amazing, blissful process. We try to see the good in everything but there are still hard days. Our village will be there. They will be there until the day that we are able to say - "we are parents!" They will be there, I have no doubt in that.   Some of you are our close family. Some are our best friends. Some are people we don't know well but have shown so much love and support in this journey. To those in our village, we thank you and we hope we can repay you some day for the love and compassion you have shown us.

Our village is everything.