Adoption News
ADOPTIVE PARENTS BOND AT PICNIC
By: Jason Vallee, reporter at the New Britain Herald
August 7, 2006
ROCKY HILL - They may not look the same, but that has not stopped any of the adoptive families that have worked with Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSS) from creating a happy home.
On Sunday afternoon, adoptive families from across the state came together at Elmridge Park to share some quality time, reunite with friends and connect with other families during the fourth annual Family Picnic hosted by LSS Adoption Services.
While the picnic has been held only for the past few years, the family gathering is not something new.LSS Adoptive Services, which has served New England for 135 years now, has been hosting a gathering annually in November to coincide with National Adoption Month, but due to scheduling conflicts they moved the event to August.
"Going through an adoption is such a personal process that you create a connection forever," said Darlene Lundy, international adoption specialist with LSS. "The picnic lets these families connect and stay connected with others who know what it's like." Lundy, who has taken part in the international adoption process herself, added that the event helps parents develop a support system with others who understand the process, as well as working as a reunion for families who have traveled and adopted together.
Dawn Hayden, who has adopted one daughter from China and is in the adoption process for a second girl with her husband Michael, and John O'Leary, father of two girls adopted from China with his wife Nancy, are a perfect example of the bond that can be created between adoptive families. The families met in 2004 during a scheduled adoption trip to China with three other families. After finishing the process, they decided to remain close friends and now meet several times a year to catch up.
"When you share such an incredible experience as this and you spend several weeks in a foreign country helping each other to adopt a child, you develop a very different bond," Hayden said. "It's a connection you just don't make with families in everyday life."
For the children, the picnic help serves as an annual way to meet up with other kids who have been through the same experiences and allows them to develop a support system and network of friends with similar cultural backgrounds.
"This is a great experience for my girls. It gives them opportunity to see that they are no different than anyone else," said O'Leary."In our neighborhood we are the only family with an adopted child, but this gives them a chance to see they are not the only ones out there." O'Leary also said that he hopes the picnics will allow his daughters to stay connected with those who were adopted alongside them and, in some cases, even from the same orphanage on the same trip.
Perhaps the most important part of Sunday's event for any of the families was simply to show the children they are as loved as any other child. "We are a family, it's as simple as that," said O'Leary. "They may be adopted and may be from a different country, but they are our children and we love them as much as any biological parent loves their child."