The moment I saw the sign with the address I'd written down so many times, I got teary. Then we walked in with Abe and after a few minutes Mary and Scott came down the stairs, and I was trying not to lose it. Mary was our caseworker, the one who made all those difficult calls with bad news...and then the one whose voice told me on March 3rd last year, "Lori, it's done!" signaling the news that we were Abe's parents officially. To meet sweet Mary in person was so beyond wonderful.
Abe meets Mary and does his teased "ooh, that's a pretty girl" routine.I encourage any parents who travel anywhere near the Gladney campus to stop in for a visit. We had a wonderful time there, and I think it does the team a lot of good to meet the children they've heard so much about and worked so hard, long long long hours, to bring home to their families. They were so laid-back and wonderful, not even once threatening to take Abe away from us when he wandered off to find the fun toy-room down a long hall-way (seriously though--how ironic that we lose our child and send our former caseworker scrambling along with us calling out for lost Abe...in the agency building through which he became our son? Not my proudest mom-moment).
The incomparable Mary, with Scott Brown, head of the Ethiopia programFinally, we found out while at Gladney that there is a movie out there about Edna Gladney called Blossoms in the Dust, made in 1941, which won an Oscar for Best Art Direction and was nominated for Best Picture. Wow. It's now on our Netflix queue.
I'll leave you with some purposefully blurry photos of the next fun thing that happened on our trip to the South, which I'll write about next:
5 comments:
Oh so sad that you drove right by Arlington! Abe would have loved to meet Abe. :) Glad it was a fun trip.
They are pretty fabulous at Gladney.
Okay, so the movie, it really is good, though very much "of its time." :) The acting is a little bit funny. But a good movie.
Oh, I am like these pics at the end. Whose that noob in the yellow t-shirt?
"I am *liking* these pics...."
Good times at Gladney... love them as much as you do! Sweet Sweet Mary T.
Looks like Ruthie and Abe became fast forever friends. :)
I live in Fort Worth, and the first time I visited Gladney was this summer! It was invigorating! I have heard sooo much about it for years, but to walk in those doors & be greeted by the friendly faces, I felt at home! The place is remarkable. I'll have to check into that movie about Edna Gladney! I can't wait to go back for the placement ceremony of my child. They have a placement room, where placements usually take place for domestic adoption. I love this post!
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