GOTCHA!

**Warning, if you are an adoptive parent easily offended, don’t read on! ;-)

I read an article recently on some site that was supposed to help you prepare for adoption/travel/your new child, etc.. And I came across this article under a section called whats hot, titled, “Getting rid of gotcha”. Interesting. For those of you who don’t know, Gotcha Day in adoption world, typically refers to the day you meet your child. And so I read the article and once again have found more “rules” in adoption world I just had no idea about! Honestly as I read it thought it was a joke. No, sadly it was true. Apparently saying Gotcha Day is offensive. Maybe you all know this, I must be slow to catch on to these things. Some parents refuse to call it Gotcha day, so they refer to it as

Metcha Day
Forever Family Day
Adoption Day
Family Day
“child's name” day
Siblings Day
And the list goes on.

The article said “ when you catch a mosquito, you say Gotcha. How awful that we use the same term when speaking of our children.” Are you kidding me?

Here is what I have learned. Some people have WAY more time on their hands to dissect the silliest things! Are we seriously that worried about the term we use for that day? Wow! I honestly just had to laugh! Who really cares WHAT we call it? Does it really require writing a magazine article to warn new parents NOT to say gotcha?

August 21st, 2006, God handed me the most amazing gift. I GOT my Sage! WE became a forever family. My life was changed in only ways that God could have ordained. It is among the most memorable day of my life. YOU can refer to it as whatever YOU want, and I will happily refer to it as I want. It is a day I will celebrate till the day I die, and I could care less if it is labeled “Sage’s gotcha, metcha, forever family, placed in her parents arms, planned from the beginning of time, she is a Laxton, Day!”

I guess the thing to me that I just don't get is this. How can we even care what it is called? How can some people look at that day and really worry about the terminology that was used for it. I look at August 21st 2006 and the name is NOT what pops into my head. My daughters face, the way she felt when I finally held her in my arms, the smells, the look in her eyes, THOSE are the things I think about from that day. I can still FEEL the way I felt on that day, the way she felt in my arms. I can promise you, it did not feel as if I was swatting a mosquito! ;-)

So before anyone leaves me a comment telling me I am going to ruin my childrens lives because I don't worry about these things, don't bother. If you want to get rid of gotcha, you go ahead! I have MUCH more important things to worry about like, how can I will an I171 into my mailbox, or how can we possibly get to China near the Olympics or, how can we change the world so every orphan has a GOTCHA day which actually means they all have families! Those are my worries.