Within weeks of my decision mutual friends of my ex boyfriend contacted me to let me know that they had heard of my pregnancy and wanted to be there to support me. They let me know of close friends of theirs who were unable to have biological children of their own and were looking to adopt, so if I had interest they could help to set me up with them.
Two things made me decide almost immediately that this was something I wanted to pursue.
1. The thought of going to an adoption agency to “shop” for parents for my child terrified me to my core.
2. A voice inside me just kept repeating to do it. If an opportunity to meet this couple would arise, do it. And do not question it.
At this time in my faith it was hard for me to decipher if this was indeed a push from God or the burrito I had eaten for dinner just messing with me. Either way, who can ignore such a pull, be it from Mexican take out or God?!
So I decided to meet this mysterious couple at a local restaurant the following week. Before meeting however I needed to try to explain this to my parents in a way that didn’t sound so ludicrous. “Hey mom and dad, so as you know I’ve decided to place my baby for adoption. A friend told me they know of a couple looking to adopt so I’m actually gonna go grab dinner with them soon and talk about how this whole shabang works, okay?” In not so many words this is in short how I blurted it out. Needless to say both my parents thought this decision to meet two random people and discuss the adoption of my child, at a restaurant none the less, seemed less than…normal. However, I was never one to bide my time.
December 18th, 2008 I waited to meet a couple to discuss the adoption of my child. Talk about awkward. The whole way to the restaurant I tried to come up with introductions in my head. “Hi, I’m Emily, don’t worry, I don’t do crack.” To much. “Hi, I’m Emily, you know, the pregnant one.” To forward. “Hi, I’m Emily.” PERFECT. The specifics of this night are fuzzy to me now 6 years later, but what I do remember has come to be one of the most memorable evenings in my entire life. When I met Jill and Bob, they were just as nervous, if not more so than I was, but I never would’ve been able to tell. I remember eating our meal and getting to know one another. We talked of movies, likes, dislikes and in between Bob even whistled our waitress over like a taxi…it was a match made in heaven. At the end of the evening we said we would be in touch, hugged, and went our separate ways.
As I got into my car that night I had two very clear distinct thoughts, yet again.
1. We never even talked about the pregnancy
2. I knew that night I had found the parents of this baby.
Without knowing their background, parenting technique, heck without even remembering their last name, I was overcome with a peace that flooded my being. THESE were this child’s parents, and that I needn’t look any further. And I never did. From that night on; Jill, Bob and I made a point to get together nearly every week of my pregnancy. We would eat dinner, we would play games, we would laugh, and as time went on, and we became closer, we began to talk more and more of my pregnancy. I let them know early on I had no intention of looking elsewhere and they showed me with each passing week that they were a gift from God, meant for this baby, and this baby, for them.
Ashley Wilson 