Oracle, prophetess, orphan

I’ve been requested to put more of MY life in the blog. Hey, I take requests. So here’s a big chunk that most of the people I know read this site have already heard, but I’m allowed to cheat if I want to. :)

You who know me know I have next to no maternal instinct. Not for children, anyway. For animals, for my friends, sure, lots. But I’ve never been into babies, never craved children of my own. Heck, I didn’t even like dolls growing up. I went for the stuffed animals and My Little Ponies. I’ve pretty much been an animal girl my whole life. Which does not preclude me from making a really great “aunt” to my friends’ kids, mind you. I’d love to be a real aunt, but Steph is of the same mind as me re: kids, so that’s not going to happen. Mom long ago resigned herself to this (mostly); sweatshirts of “I have a grand-dog/cat” are appropriate attire for her.

Anyway, the only way I’ve ever honestly considered having children is through adoption. However, what I really wanted to do is go volunteer at an orphanage or two and work with the kids there, getting to know them until I found a child who was perfectly suited to me and vice versa. (Also, I read way too much L. M. Montgomery as a kid). Given that orphanages don’t really exist anymore…this plan seemed unlikely.

Now, come back with me to Wednesday night. I was researching this catalog of children put out by the Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange for a story idea. I find the idea of an “available children” catalog that you can pick up at your local library odd, and had visions of a weird consumerist society of the future with children for sale on Ebay and such like that. I was perusing the listings, seeing how they described the kids, how it was presented, things like that. And, out of nowhere, I found a girl I want to adopt.

Believe me, no one is more surprised by this than I am.

Her name is Casandra . Go. Meet her. Watch her video.

I sent around emails to several friends, linking them to her. I said that I know this is a ludicrous idea, that there’s no way I could do this, but that I could pray for her and asked them to do the same. I ask you the same thing, if you weren’t a part of that original email (and, you know, you pray, which I know some of you don’t :) ).

And a funny thing has been happening since then. Every single person who has responded, rather than mocking me for this or breathing huge sighs of relief that I am not actually going to do this—which, frankly, is what I expected—has instead said in one way or another that I should stay open to the idea of actually doing this. I’ve gotten links to adoption assistance, encouragement that I could “mom with the best of them,” happiness about a possible grandchild, etc.

I guess what I’m asking from you is for prayer not only for Casandra—that she finds a loving home and is encouraged by people who understand her—but for me as well to be open to doing this if I should, for a GIANT, obvious, unmisinterpretable, blinking, neon sign, and for contentment if not pursuing this is the right decision.

I was going to put a lot more in here about how I can picture taking her to the farmer's market, giving her $10 and letting her pick out whatever she wants, or what her room looks like, or what chores she would get and how I would deal with fights and enrolling her in a charter school, etc., etc., but this is long enough.

There, Tailyn. News from my life. :)