****UPDATE**** My Kid is NOT a Blue Light Special!

****UPDATE****

So we talked to the teacher today & happy to say that everything went very easily & peacefully! Turns out that one of her friends (affectionately) refers to her 3 adopted kids as her "store-bought" kids..(not saying I agree with that mom, but...well whatever). So, said teacher didn't think anything about using that phrase since her own friend refers to her adopted kids that way. We explained that regardless, we did not want that term used and why. She was VERY apologetic, understanding and appreciated that we took the time to talk to her about it. I don't anticipate any more problems.

We know this teacher adores Nate and we wanted her (and anyone else reading our blog or facebook) to be aware of what is said to adopted kids. If we had yelled at her, or gone over her head without talking to her, we would have missed an opportunity to positively change one more person's view of adoption. I'm glad everything worked out the way it did.

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I've heard the stories. Comments people have made to parents who've adopted kids. So far we had been spared many of those comments. Probably because everyone assumes I gave birth to Nate since he looks similar to me. However...I knew we wouldn't escape it completely.

So hubby goes to pick up Nate at preschool. There are several teachers there and all classes & teachers converge during the lunch hour. In a word...chaos! As he's gathering up Nate, his lunch box and whatever papers & crafts he did that day, while dodging other preschoolers winding up their lunch time....one of the teachers finds out that we adopted Nate and *****drum roll*****, says...

"Oh! He's one of our store-bought kids!"

What??? Are you kidding me? Did I hear that right? Then hubby informs me that she goes on to say, "We have lots of store-bought kids in our preschool!"

NO. WAY.

We did not go shopping one day, see Nate sitting on some shelf & decide to purchase him with our half-off coupon. Oh wait. The coupon expired so I guess we'll have to pay full price! Un...be...lievable!

Now I know she didn't intend to be cruel. She has a rep for saying whatever pops into her head. But at the same time, she does need to think about the impact of her words. I mean that's just setting up future "let's make fun of the adopted boy" moments. I could just see a thoughtless kid telling him he must have come from Walmart because they found toys there that were "Made in China". Show some tact!!!

Needless to say, poor hubby was dumbfounded...speechless (and if you know my hubby, you know that's a miracle). By the time his head cleared, chaos was still around & teacher was off somewhere. So when Nate goes back to school tomorrow, we will have to have a talk with said teacher.

A friend informed me that there's a young adult book out called "The Store Bought Child" (about a girl's adopted brother who was killed in an accident). I don't know if that's where this teacher got this term but regardless....it's definitely not appropriate to use for adopted kids. No kid wants to be looked at as an object or dehumanized.

This was on top of another incident earlier in the week when one of my hubby's facebook friends (from way back in high school) decided to question our decision on adopting internationally rather than domestically. It's one thing to ask. It's another to demand to know "how on earth could you do such a horrible thing" type of attitude.

ALL adopted kids...domestic or international have the right to be loved & to a family. God called us to this and He will place the child we are meant to have. We have a heart for orphans and there are many many millions of orphans world-wide who need a mom & dad.

'Nuf said.

-Denise