Thank You

I wanted to publicly express my deepest gratitude to my friends who have shared hugs, shoulders, encouragement and a sympathetic ear across cyberspace. This journey we are on is so unique that few people can truly appreciate some of the experiences we are going through. It is a blessing that connections can be made across distances with people I may never meet face to face, but who are on a similar journey. Some have passed this way ahead of me, some are traveling some of the same sections right now, and others are close behind. Others are friends from earlier times and places who have reconnected and, while situations are different, experiences are similar.

We have had numerous offers to connect us with families who have adopted from China, but since adopting an older child is still relatively rare, most of those families have children adopted when much, much younger than Alice. The offers are appreciated, but once we get past the fact that we have children adopted from the same country the similarities of experiences disappear quickly. This is where the cyber community has filled a tremendous need for me. A place to turn for voices of experience and sympathetic understanding developed under similar unique circumstances.

To each of my cyber friends, a big THANK YOU! I may not be able to pay you back, but I hope I can someday pay it forward.