Let me tell you what it's like when you meet your children for the first time.
If you've ever held your newborn baby in your arms, you remember the way that your eyes fill up: Maybe just the prick of a tear, or maybe you let loose in a flood of emotion.
When your children are 10 and 12 years old when you meet them, it's exactly like that. Only different.
When you meet your 10 and 12 year old children for the first time, you've probably already seen a picture. So you already know they are a couple of adorable kids. You've probably already talked to their social workers, teachers, foster parents, and other people who know them well. So you already know that they are resilient, lovable, and one-of-a-kind (times 2!).
You're excited. It feels so strange, knowing that in 5 minutes you will become a mom again, and that for the rest of your life you will have two more lives to guide and love unconditionally. You're so nervous that your stomach is tied up in crazy twisted-up knots. You know you'll love them (you already do), but what if they're not as happy to see you?
You pray. The knots loosen a little. You're relieved to remember that others are praying, too.
Then you spot them for the first time. Maybe they're outside tossing a football around. A beautiful blond pixie of a girl and a brown-haired boy with a smile that reaches all the way to his eyes. You gasp and say to your husband, "They are so cute."
The tears prick your eyes: Yes, it's exactly the same. I'm their mom, you think. They're my kids forever, you think.
The car stops and you can't wait to get out. On the way here, so many thoughts raced through your head. Do we refer to ourselves as Mom & Dad right away? Do we hug them when we meet them? At the end of the visit? Do we just wait? What will we say?
But unlike that precious newborn with the scrunched-up forehead and the bleary eyes, your 10 and 12-year-old children can already smile at you. And they do, and it lights up their whole faces. You are utterly captivated. Your children can already reach for you, and they do, and hugging them is the most natural thing in the world.
So what's it like when you meet your children for the first time? It doesn't matter if they are a newborn with a button nose and pink cheeks, or a pair of preteens looking up at you with hope shining in their eyes: You are caught off guard by the awesome responsibility that is yours. And you just love them.
