{FAMILY} Buy & Sell Baby

In the late 70s, we didn’t have Craigslist (or even the internet for that matter), so when one wanted to search for gently used items, job postings, garage sales, or anything else they wanted to buy, sell or trade, they would look for it in the Buy & Sell. You could find almost anything in there, but I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who found my parents through the popular publication.

1979 was the year of the child. To celebrate, my adopted mother decided she wanted to help a child in need. She posted an ad in the Buy & Sell offering free child care for a family in need. My biological mother came across the ad and jumped at the opportunity. Luckily for me, a babysitter who was found by chance, became my mother by choice. Fate is a beautiful thing.

My adopted mother is a rare kind, someone who doesn’t just love children, but someone who lives for children. She loves unconditionally, endlessly, and altruistically. She not only provided me with the most wonderful life, but has blessed the lives of many other families in need. She has been a foster parent to almost a dozen children, and has spent the better part of her lifetime running an infant/toddler child care centre. She has also been a very supportive and influential person in the lives of my children.

I believe that if you are raised by a loving family, then you believe that your family situation is “normal”. I’ve always known I was adopted, and as an interracial adoptee I didn’t look like the rest of my family. But because I was so loved and accepted, I didn’t feel different from the rest.

Now that I’ve become a mother, I aspire to be like the mother who raised me. I will teach my children about the varieties of families in our world, and that there is nothing more important than being surrounded by a family who loves and supports you.