My guest today is MaryAnn Diorio, and she is doing a giveaway of her book The Madonna of Pisano. Leave a blog comment below to enter the giveaway. I will choose the winner on the
Sunday following this post.
When my daughter announced that she and her husband were planning to
adopt a child, I was both delighted and concerned. Delighted because I had been
looking forward to being a grandmother. Concerned because I knew nothing about
adoption and had many questions. TWEET THIS
Upon doing a Google search on grandparents and adoption, I found, to
my surprise, very little information. It seemed as though grandparents were not
considered an integral part of the adoption process. Yet, I have since learned they
are a very important part. For this reason, we need to be aware of some issues
we will face as the grandparents of children who have been adopted. Here are
some of those issues:
1) The New Look of Adoption. We adoptive grandparents need to understand that adoption today is
much different from what it was in our day. Chief among these differences is
the openness and transparency with which adoption is conducted today. TWEET THIS
Back when I was growing up, a girl who got pregnant out of wedlock was sent away to avoid shame for herself and her family. If she chose to have her baby adopted, the adoption was conducted privately and sometimes kept hidden from the child for his entire life.
Today, adoptive mothers often keep in close touch with the birth
mothers of their children. The adopted children are told at an early age that
they are adopted and are encouraged to keep open the lines of communication
with their birth mothers and/or birth fathers.
2) Unexpected Questions. When my daughter shared with me some of the questions people would ask
her--questions like, Where is he from?;
What nationality is she?; Does she know she is adopted?--I was relieved
that my daughter would be the one answering those questions. Imagine how
surprised I was when people started asking me the same questions.
Because I wasn't prepared, I kept the conversation short and sweet. I
then got some coaching from my daughter as to how to answer such personal questions,
if at all. Sometimes people are genuinely interested; most of the time, they
are just plain nosey.
3) Practical Help. Look for practical ways to help your children as they go through the
challenging adoption process. For example, instead of a traditional baby
shower, donate a gift of plane tickets for travel related to the adoption.
Offer to babysit when you can. Cook a meal or two for your child and her
family. What you can do is limited only by your creative ingenuity. TWEET THIS
Bottom line, remember this: Adoption is a gift of life. Just as God
the Father has adopted us into His family and made us equal heirs to His
salvation, so must we look on our adopted grandchildren as equal heirs of our
love, our support, and our devotion.
Resources for Adoptive
Grandparents:
credocafe.blogspot.com (My Daughter's
Blog on Adoption)
______________________________
Copyright 2016 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved.
Dr. MaryAnn Diorio writes compelling fiction about the deepest issues
of the human heart. Her latest novel, The
Madonna of Pisano, is the first book in her trilogy titled The Italian Chronicles. She and her
husband are the proud grandparents of five adopted grandchildren. You may reach
her at http://www.maryanndiorio.com.
Purchase Links to My Books:
The Madonna of Pisano (A Novel)
Surrender to Love (A Novella)
A Christmas Homecoming (A Novella)
Candle Love (Picture Book)
Toby Too Small (Picture Book)
Who Is Jesus? (Picture Book)
Don't forget to leave a blog comment to enter your name for a chance to win
The Madonna of Pisano.
MaryAnn's Social Media
Links:
Website: www.maryanndiorio.com
Blog (Matters of the Heart): http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/maryanndiorioblog
Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/DrMaryAnnDiorio
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/@DrMaryAnnDiorio
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6592603
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=45380421
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/drmaryanndiorio/
Google+: http://plus.google.com/u/0/+DrMaryAnnDiorio
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/drmaryann
Blog (Matters of the Heart): http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/maryanndiorioblog
Amazon Author Central: http://www.amazon.com/author/maryanndiorio
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/DrMaryAnnDiorio
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/@DrMaryAnnDiorio
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6592603
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=45380421
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/drmaryanndiorio/
Google+: http://plus.google.com/u/0/+DrMaryAnnDiorio
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/drmaryann
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