On this Christmas Day 2014, I am a father at 48-years of age. My wife and I started trying to have kids in 2007, but were unsuccessful. We kept at it, trying to go the science route for a while and that really took a toll on Missy. We then decided it was time to look into adoption, so we sought out an agency in Raleigh, NC to start our search. For the last two-years, weve moved a couple of times, so we had to have new home studies done. And, we had to have all our adoption clearances checked again. As we settled into our new home in Asheville, NC after spending two months in Ecuador at the end of last year and into January, we started marketing ourselves locally, keeping up our Facebook presence, our website, and our agency adoption page. We were fortunate to be discovered by a local adoption attorney here in Asheville representing a woman only a few miles away who was 8-months pregnant. Birth mom selected us. In the span of 3 short weeks, we attended her ultrasounds, got to know her and her father and mother, witnessed the birth of our son, and became parents overnight. We also spent a week in the NICU, as little Hudson David Antonio Zeoli needed a little extra care. Our lives are changed forever. Its odd going through this kind of search. We think that most people just get pregnant and have babies. When youre in a search for an adoptive child, its sort of monotonous. Its a seemingly never ending journey of getting agency guidance, marketing yourselves to prospective birth moms, filling out paperwork, and really just waiting for something...anything to happen. I never, ever would have thought I would be here. But somehow my life took this strange turn and here I am, doing something I never, ever thought Id do. Im not going to say that I was 100% gung-ho about this. I wasnt. I was on board completely, but I am also building a business and trying to stay engaged in what I needed to do to stay relevant in my field. Looking for a child seemed a little distant. Like waiting for that trip to Disney World your parents had promised you, after it had been cancelled a few years in a row. Disney World seemed like a great place, but it was so far away. To get there, you couldnt go on your own. You needed someone to help you, and as the waiting game commenced, it just seemed like the day might never come. You started treating it like it was something you wanted to look forward to, but without firm plans, it would become an afterthought. Fortunately, we did finally make it to Disney World. It took some time. The same as making it to be adoptive parents to this little, amazing young man we call Hudson. Now, hes here. After all the wait, I finally get to realize what many people in my world have realized for so many years. Some of their kids have even graduated college and are in the workforce. The time went by. Not fast, but as time goes by and you age and you wonder, where did the time go? You dont really know what youre not experiencing, because its hard to know what its like unless youre a parent. Now, BOOM...were parents. Whoa! The whole world just stopped on a dime and someone said, here you go...heres your son. We have arrived and are embracing this little man with all the love we can give. With our hearts, minds, and spirit. We know that everyday hes with us is a gift of immeasurable proportions. For that, we are incredibly grateful. Im now on my first ride at Disney World. Its called the Interstellar Galactic World of the Marvelous (and Gassy) Hudson David Antonio Zeoli. And, its just as fun now as it was back then. I cant say I believe in Christmas miracles. I think we make up these things in order to make sense of the world. I believe we had done the work to put ourselves in a position where we would be found. And, we were found. There was no magic, but maybe a universe that felt our energy and found a way for all that love we have for Hudson to bring him to us through the spirit of many warm and kind individuals looking out for us – all aligned for the same common purpose – to give Hudson an opportunity he might not have otherwise had out of the gate. On this Christmas Day, I am so grateful for my wife and so grateful for my son. I now have a family to call my own. Something many men aspire to have, because its innate in all of us to procreate and sustain and propel human existence on this planet. While it did not happen naturally, it happened the way it was meant to. We were given the gift of caring for a child who did not come from us, but is now with us forever. He is us and we are him, brought together as one family unit. While I have faith there is a higher power, I find that power to be one of energy connecting everyones worlds. If that is God in some peoples minds, then God is the one to thank for providing the energy and connective tissue to bring this story to a wonderful close. Thank you for reading. Good night and Merry Christmas.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 06:08:16 +0000
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