Had a chance to talk about my cadet’s backstory

Sometimes I find that I get so wrapped up in my day-to-day life that I lose sight of how many experiences I’ve been blessed with that many people will never exprience.

I’ve hiked into the Grand Canyon, traveled to more than 40 states and a dozen countries, interviewed countless celebrities and professional athletes, attended amazing concerts, watched the filming of an Iron Chef America episode, and so many other things I take for granted. That includes the fact that both my kids received and accepted appointments to U.S. military academies.

Then there’s my Mid Sib’s backstory. Catie’s been my daughter for more than 17 years, so to me, well, she’s my daughter. But ever so often, I am reminded that her story is one most people will never experience. And, as her father, I have lived through many things most people won’t experience. I recently had the opportunity to talk about what led us to consider international adoption and some of Catie’s back story on the Foster Nation podcast.

You can listen to it here:

It’s easy to get in an echo chamber, to get somewhat self-isolated (especially the past year), but it’s important to be aware that everything is not one-size-fits-all. The podcast host shared that many people have negative reaction to he and his wife being foster parents and the same can be said of adoptive parents. I hope that those feelings come from a lack of understand or simply a lack of interaction with those who’ve taken those paths. I can only hope that at least one person here’s Catie’s story and gets a better understanding and perspective on being an adoptive parent.

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A reminder that I published the notes I collected during my two-week trip to China to bring Catie home – you can find that on Amazon.

I also encourage you to check out the Foster Nation website. Jason and Amanda have done a great job creating a community to share information and insight about fostering and adopting children – the good, the bad, the ugly, the difficult. But, let’s face it, it’s mostly good.