Creating a Life Book: page 7, our first family holiday
After our daughter Alex came home to us, and toward the end of our 6
months "probationary period," we decided to go on holiday. Under normal circumstances, we would've
travelled to England to visit my husband Marcus' family; however, because Alex's adoption wasn't final, we were
prohibited from leaving the country. So instead, we went somewhere that none of us had ever been before:
Santa Fe, New Mexico.The week we spent in Santa Fe was quite possibly the best holiday I'd ever had. It was the first time, sadly, that we had spent an entire uninterrupted week together: Marcus and I each only had a couple of days off when Alex came home, because our employer did not provide maternity leave for adoptive parents (a rant for another time). While we'd certainly had long weekends together, Marcus and I ended up working in shifts -- I'd work very early in the morning until very early in the afternoon, and Marcus would work late morning to late afternoon, with a nanny covering for us in the middle of the day. It was exhausting for both of us, and we looked forward to this holiday with unusual gusto.
Page 7 was dedicated to this unusual time when we spent 7 full days in each other's uninterrupted company. We hiked ancient Native American ruins. We went sightseeing through Santa Fe and Taos. We went to great little coffeehouses, and had early dinners in the cool evenings at wonderful outdoor cafes. Even some old friends from law school managed to meet us, driving up from Albuquerque to spend the day. And with each passing day, the three of us grew even closer than we already were. We were officially a family, and the court date that was waiting for us when we got back seemed an unnecessary formality.
It was absolutely glorious, and luckily, I had the photographs to prove it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mir 2-08-2006 @ 8:19AM
Even in the shrunken-down version of that page, you can see that everyone is GLOWING with happiness. Thank you for sharing this process... I'm sure Alex will treasure her lifebook.
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halloweenlover 2-09-2006 @ 7:37PM
I LOVE this, Karen. What a beautiful book.
But seriously, your company DIDN'T ALLOW adoptive leave? I'm outraged.
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