Sometime during all this, I started thinking about what to tell him when he’s older; how much information to give him & when to give him the information. I started writing down little bits and pieces. I remember the social worker giving me this piece of advice. "Every time you do something he loves, like a bath or a walk in the pram or a tickle on the bed, use the word – adoption. Eg…who’s a beautiful adopted baby?" She said that he would eventually come to associate that word with happy times. One day when he asks what it means and we tell him, he will already feel comfortable that it is a good thing.
It hasn’t really happened like that though because we have ended up knowing so many people with adopted kids. The word comes up all the time and all the kids in the group are quite comfortable with it. Still, I had been writing some ideas down and had a thought to make it into a book. It was to be something that Alex & his friends could read that would explain why and how adoption happens. I wanted all the kids in his circle (adopted and biological) to be able to read in a fun, easy way about adoption. I finished writing the text and then struggled for almost a year to find someone to do the illustrations. (The long struggle was due to financial constraints.) Eventually, the book was illustrated, printed and for sale! It is called The Greatest Gift. It is aimed at kids aged 2 - 6 years. You can see more about the book on my website: www.thegreatestgift.co.za
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