The ones left behind.

As Leslie and I were seated on the floor of the Children’s Home in Bangalore with our new son, excited and relieved that we were finally together as a family, something happened to temper what was, and still is, the happiest day of our lives…


While we were playing with Manu and adjusting him to his new parents, a little girl, maybe 3 years old walks into the room and taps Leslie on the shoulder. Leslie turns to the little girl to be asked, “Are you my mama?” Our hearts just dropped to the floor. We had been so self-absorbed with Manu that we had never considered what this celebration might look like to the other children who weren’t meeting their families that day. Leslie placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder and calmly and gently told her that we were not her parents, at which point her head and shoulders fell, as she turned and walked away, defeated. What we wouldn’t give now to have been able to take that little girl home with us too, or any of the wonderful children waiting to be loved. The unfortunate reality is that for every child adopted into a loving family, many more wait. Our adoption experience not only filled our hearts, it opened our eyes.