How To Talk About Adoption - From An Adoptee

Linking up with Shay and  Erika for another random discussion. Last year they did a Workin' It them, and this year they are doing How We theme. I love it. This month they are chatting about talking to adoption to kids. Now I have no adopted any children...yet, but I do have some experience as I am ONE of the kids that has been adopted. I write a little about being adopted and my top asked questions here.

Meet my family.

Front row: Mr., Mini Fox, My Mom, Me

Second Row: Brother, Baby Fox, Sister, Dad

So today's topic is talking about adoption to kids, I thought I would share my experience as someone who is adopted. Obviously my parents couldn't hide that I was adopted...Hello I'm Korean, they are most definitely not. My brother and sister (if you have a question about that, I answered that question you might have here) are also adopted, my sister being 5 years older than me and my brother being 9 months younger than me. Yep my mom went from 1 to 3 kids in 6 months.

My parents were always open and honest with all of us being adopted. There was never a time when we didn't know. From babies they would talk about how we were adopted, even though we couldn't talk or fully understand they were constantly telling us how lucky they were to adopt us. All of my cousins knew too, it was something that we all talked about. We read Horton Hatches The Egg a lot. At the end, my mom would always say: see it doesn't matter that the bird laid the egg, Horton was the one who loved and cared for the egg. Even though I didn't carry you, I love you just as much even more than any mother/father could and am so thankful everyday to God for him sending us you. 

Now that I am older, we have always told Baby Fox and Mini Fox that I am adopted and so is Uncle M and Auntie N. We have told them that our birth parents couldn't take care of us and that they did the most selfless thing they could, and gave us to Nana and Ampa (Grandpa), so that they could love and care for us. That Nana and Ampa couldn't have kids of their own, and they wanted kids so badly so they adopted the three of us.

Also my parents were ALWAYS super open with us about questions we might have. Every once in a while, they would ask us, do you have any questions about adoption? Just in case we didn't want to bring up the subject. They would be super supportive if any of us wanted to find our birth parents, although in my sister and brothers case they know way more information than they do mine. That's their story to tell, not mine.

So that's how my parents told us we were adopted. I know this was sort of a prompted post, but any other topic of adoption you want me to discuss? I'm pretty much an open book and no question is stupid, seriously, if you thought it then I'm sure others have too. Ask away!

What It's Like To Be Adopted

I posted this a couple of weeks ago on The Blended Blog, but thought that I would share it here as well. Most of you know, but just in case you don't, here is my family.

Let me break down this picture for you:

I casually mention being adopted here, but that's about it. I don't know why, maybe it's never come up? Whatever the reason, I'm talking about it now.

Background: Clearly my parents could not lie to me and tell me otherwise, so they have been up front and honest from the get go. Actually my brother and sister (see people above) were also adopted, not from the same biological family, but they have always been up front and honest with all of us. I was born in Seoul, Korea and was adopted and came to the United States when I was 5 months old.

Most Asked Questions:

Are those your real brother and sister?

To me they are, I call them brother and sister, just as you may call your siblings brother and sister. They may not have the same blood line as me, but they will always be simply brother and sister.

Do you ever want to find your biological family?

Every adoptee is different. I feel like my biological mother did the most selfless thing she could have done as a mother and gave me up for adoption because she knew she could not care for me.  I am grateful for the family who adopted me and consider myself so lucky to have been adopted into a family who loves and cares about me so much. That being said, for me, I do not have a desire to find my biological family.

Do you ever want to go to Korea to see where you are from?

Yes, one day I would like to go there and see where I once came from, and if possible would love to share that experience with my family, both immediate and extended.

Do you ever wonder if you have biological siblings?

I do actually, and maybe that would be a reason to try and find my family, but for now I am happy where I am in life. Although when I was younger I always wondered if I was a twin and was separated at birth, haha. How cool would it be to find out you have a twin like these girls did. You can find a documentary on their story on Netflix.

I am very open about adoption and love answering questions. As a kid I would rather people ask questions then speculate and/or talk behind my back. So ask away, anything you want to know?

Linking up here