We first saw this picture of Alex less than a month ago. September 16, 2005 at 12:01AM to be exact. Since the moment that Randy and I laid eyes on this little boy's face, we knew our life together was forever changed.
Two months ago I was mainly content with my life. What is there not to like about it? I have a wonderful, loving husband who is my best friend, daily confidant, handsome paramour, best business partner and all around love of my life. We live in a beautiful home furnished in the “living in the hotel lobby of the Ritz Carlton” look that I love. Our home is tucked away on the edge of a golf course, in a gated neighborhood, nestled among the greenery that lines the sidewalks, lake and esplanade roads of Windward Community. Our two cats, Spunky and Scooter, provide daily fun in the form of lap sitting, gymnastic shows and feather batting. Combined with BernieBear, a small white bear well-practiced in the art of rapid metaphysical manifestation, Randy and I felt we had made our own family, that our life is good and seemed likely to get even better.
Except, of course for the intermittent crying spells that would occasionally overcome me. Usually they occur after an outing to a museum, movie, mall, restaurant, park or walk outside where we run into….. a small person… someone else’s child. On those days, I’d end up at bedtime snuggled into my comfort pajama’s feeling tearful and fragile. Randy’s comforting response would then, again, be the mumbled words… we could adopt.
Somehow that phrase, adopt, just didn’t resonate with me. For years it didn’t resonate. However, the moment, the very moment I saw the photo of this adorable gray eyed, brown haired, 10 year old child named Alex who lives in Odessa, Ukraine, the word adopt blurted from my lips as I happily careened around the house doing an Irish jig sort of dance that somewhat resembled a Sufi whirling dervish combined with a happy grasshopper.
That day was September 16, 2005. Randy and I are sure it’s going to be etched into our consciousness forever and will always be the best day of our life. The day we found our son.
