This week the office intercom announced another adoption by a military family. I can’t tell their story yet. But it reminded me of Ted and Mike.

Ted and I met when I visited a military base in Germany. He began his adoption journey by taking training when he was stationed in Alabama. His home study was completed while he was living in Germany. And a couple of years later he was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He was ready, so he called the county department of social services. And soon Mike was in his life.

Ted wrote about their journey for publications in one of our Heartlines newsletters:

“We met in June and he moved in on August 16, a little more than a week before his 9th birthday. . . Was it love at first sight – not hardly. Mike was a bit afraid of me and certainly didn’t trust me to follow through on what had been promised to him. Why should he? No one had before. He certainly went through a process of doubt, reluctance, embarrassment, anger and resignation before he finally realized that I just might be the ‘real thing.’

For me, I figured since I was an adult who had wanted children for a long time that this kid was going to finally (and immediately) enter my heart. He didn’t…

I’ll bet it wasn’t until Christmastime, fully six months after we met, that I can truly say I started loving him…

[Now] Mike and I have a loving relationship that is at least as tight as a birth relationship. I have been Dad from day one….now we both know what ‘dad’ means.”