Waiting

A word not to be taken lightly within the adoption community. Sure, there's waiting involved in biological births to families but they're in a relatively greater amount of control over what happens during that waiting. There's much less unknown, and a whole lot less "what's my baby doing now and how is he/she interacting with her family" going on. And there's a complete nonexistence of waiting children. Waiting children. And by this I don't mean all children having been relinquished for adoption, rather I'm referring to children who have passed some sort of marker - a dreadful milestone of sorts - that places them in to the category of "waiting child" which basically puts their chances of being adopted at zippy to nil. Children who have essentially lost all rights to to childhood and the ability to develop in to who they could be one day. Waiting children.

Children like this.

And all of a sudden the word "waiting" takes on an entirely new form, an imperceptible being. She's 4 years old and about to be completely screwed. And is just one of many in this position.

Next time you witness someone waiting impatiently in line for their double-tall-nonfat-sugarfree-latte (um, me) just do me a favor and slap me upside my not-waiting face. It needs it.