My Home: Adoptionland

You’re not going to find it on Google Maps and most people aren’t even aware it exists. But not so deep on the inter webs, and through rivers and valleys of social media, there is a place called “Adoptionland.” It’s not hard to find, and fairly easy to access if you have basic knowledge of web browsing and an Internet connection. It sounds simple, but it isn’t. Like any other sovereign country, Adoptionland has its own rules, laws, regulations, consequences, crime, punishment, and politicians. Also like other countries there are independent states and provinces that make up all of Adoptionland. Each of those have their own offshoot laws and politicians. Finally, within these states, lies towns and cities and together we all make up the fascinating world of Adoption and all of the people who reside in it.

Some citizens of Adoptionland belong to only one state or province, some hold dual citizenship in more than one. Some like to move around and others like to stay put. Some states are more advanced while others move at a slower pace than the rest. Some people would love to become a permanent resident of Adoptionland but don’t quite fit, while others hold permanent residency status. Some wish they could give up their citizenship or residency altogether and move to another country, but they can’t and never will be able to. Some are content where they are and wish to stay forever and are scared of other lands. The only indigenous people, and true citizens, of Adoptionland are the adoptees. The ones who hold permanent residency status are the ones who have created the adoptees. Many adoptive parents are also permanent residents. Some adoptive parents are on a temporary visa and all hopeful adoptive parents are wanting to enter the country and can only do so by helping to create an adoptee.

Some residents believe in magic and the power of good and that love is the solution to everything. Some believe in the power of education and equipping people with knowledge. Some believe that Adoptionland should be shut down for good – its borders closed. Some believe a little bit of all or some of these things. Others still believe in self-promotion, self-gain, and entitlement and are using their residency in Adoptionland to further this belief.

Like any country, Adoptionland is as diverse as it is vast. What Adoptionland is not, is broken. Sometimes little towns in Adoptionland get one of those self-serving residents. They want so badly to rule the town so they can feel important. Sometimes the self-serving politicians of Adoptionland create their own towns and encourage people to move in. Sometimes they talk the sitting mayor into resigning their position so they are able to elect themselves to the position. It doesn’t matter much how it happens. What matters is it happens. Once that self-serving politician is allowed in that town they will sometimes recruit others like them to manage that town. It may take a day, it may take a couple of years, but before long those towns usually fizzle out, dry up, and cease to exist. There may be some talk about it for a while, some talk about the self-centered, egotistical, narcissistic motives of the mayor that ruled the town, and how he/she stifled the town from the growing pains it was experiencing (and we all know growing pains are painful but lead to, well, growth), but that usually only lasts a few days, maybe a few weeks. When any town self-implodes or goes stagnant due to leadership people will talk.

But Adoptionland cannot be broken. There are cities and towns that have been there since the beginning that still stand and still remain. It is a testament to their strength and structure. There are cities and towns that pop up all of the time. Not all will remain, but many will, and they will stand in defiance of all that tried to take them down. The states and provinces of Adoptionland will never be broken. They will never die. As long as people seek truth, love, understanding, and education, Adoptionland will remain. There is no way to break it, especially no way for one person to break it. To believe so, by default, exposes what class of resident you are in Adoptionland (see above) and if you haven’t figured out which class that is by now I’m not surprised.

Personally, I wish Adoptionland never existed. I wish families always were able to stay together and could never be broken apart. But it does exist and will probably always exist. Because of this I do not wish to see it broken. It has become my home, even though I wish I never had reason to move here in the first place. It is where I find my tribe. It is where I find my voice. It is where I find my people. It is where I find my heart on many occasions. It is my place – your place. If it cannot have never existed, then I do not wish for it to be broken. And in that, I am thankful that it cannot be. Insignificant towns may be washed away or dry up. Significant cities may face devastating disasters. But Adoptionland will remain.