pat loughery

Our family has started the process of doing another adoption. We are a ways out – probably January or February is when we’ll be ready to add another family member – but are doing some legwork and research and planning. We’re probably going to be doing foster adoption.

One of the issues that’s come up is transracial adoption. It’s a deeply interesting topic – we have to consider what we as a family are willing to enter into (moving past the “love is enough” idealism and getting into the realities of racism, rude comments, social differences, learning about cultures that aren’t our own); what is good for a child living in our neighborhood and city and region, and a whole host of topics that we’re just now beginning to learn the reality of. We recently attended a seminar on fostering and adopting transracially which was very helpful and also eye-opening.

But as we’re doing that, we’re talking among ourselves. We recently had this conversation with Kaileigh, who’s 4 and will turn 5 in September:

Us: Kaileigh, how would you feel about having a little brother or sister who has different skin color than you?

K: Huh?

Us: Well maybe will have a new sister has dark skin like X, or a brother brown skin like Y, or

K: That would be fun!

Us: Or maybe light skin like you-

K, interrupting: Or, we could adopt a SHARK for a PET! And it could live in the inflatable swimming pool in the back yard!