SHARING OUR NEWS

For some reason, it took me longer than anyone else in our family to be ready to tell people about our big news.  It was such a big decision and yet so personal.  It quickly became necessary for us to begin sharing our news with certain people.  Our home study paperwork required several character references, birth certificates, a marriage certificate, fingerprints, and a medical exam which meant several calls and a visit to the government center.  We love living in a small town, but in this case, I was a bit paranoid about who was privy to this information.  I guess I just wasn't ready to start answering questions about the whole thing.  I will say that all of the people who knew about our plans were very respectful about our privacy and keeping this under wraps.  Thank you.  You know who you are.

It has been interesting to see how people have responded to our news.   Some people became very quiet and didn't really say much.  I think that they were just stunned and needed some time to process.  Others became visibly excited.  Still others immediately got tears in their eyes.  I have no expectations of how people should receive news like this.  Everyone is different and I can appreciate that. The best part is that after the news sinks in, most people have been very supportive.  

My parents were one of the hardest to tell.  I knew that they would be supportive, but I didn't want them to worry. After my dad's chin hit the floor, he kept saying, "WOW, that is a horrendous, big decision!"  (I think what he really meant was..."humongous" decision.) After I asked him to stop saying "horrendous", he started saying "WOW, that is really an awesome decision!"  I liked that better!  It turned out to be a fun night of sharing with them. Before we left, I asked my dad, "Now, are you o.k. with all of this?"  His response as he gave me a smile and a thumbs up was, "Let's do it!"  Whew!  Approval!  He will never know how much that meant to me.