I am working from home this morning while waiting for the lady from the adoption services team to arrive. Normally these meetings have happened first thing on a morning, but today the schedule is different. It’s meant cancelling an eye test I had scheduled for lunchtime, but other than that the wonders of virtual private networking allow me to work from home.
(as per normal, you can click on the photo above to see it properly)
Today the adoption interview is about racial diversity. I’m guessing normally this would be concerned with your views and preconceptions about mixed race families - and the issues surrounding mixed cultures within a family. As we are adopting from our own country, and the adoption effort tries to match the cultural background of the parents and children, we have already been told that this section of the background work isn’t going to take long at all.
It also helps that neither of us have a racist or prejudicial bone in our bodies. If anything, I would say that I’m almost too aware of prejudice - to the point that I end up thinking badly of people in situations that do not involve me at all (and could be argued are of no significance). As I’ve grown older I’ve learned to bite my tongue, but I find it incredibly difficult sometimes. I end up storing away the things people have done or said somewhere deep down in my memory. I’ve only once spoken out against the actions of a friend, and regretted it afterwards - the danger with storing things away is they tend to come out in a completely exaggerated and irrational manner.
It’s the old saying about “live and let live”, isn’t it - except of course sometimes you do have to stop, stand your ground and say “No. This is wrong”.
Perhaps having children - once the adoption finally does go through - will cause me to throw those anchors out a little more often… with the thought in mind that the children will already have potentially suffered during their childhood, I may well find myself the standard bearer in the fight to ensure they are treated fairly and equally. I wouldn’t want to be in my way if it happens either.