Power of the Kazapalooza family

One of the founding principals in our ability as humans to access the higher regions of our brain and to be compassionate, empathetic, and complex, is that we must feel as though we belong to to a supportive community where we have a few deep connections with those around us. 

For those who know me well, I often feel way out of the loop in most circles.  I can seriously say on our big road trip to and from Alabama to Ohio, the one time that the outside world seemed at peace and calm and correct is when we found ourselves stuck in after church traffic in rural Amish country.  Watching the kids wave at each other from the back of their horse drawn buggies and seeing the hand made clothes on the line felt right to me.  But I digress from my original intent of writing this post. 

Not only am I a miss fit in that I am a granola, liberal, environmentalist, who loves health food, and chooses not to have a TV in Alabama, but, my family is not like other families.  As much as those in the adoptive community want to just go on about our lives now that our kids are home, we are different from the other 98% of families in the US.  For most of us we quietly tip toe around this differences in our daily life to not scare, or quite frankly deal with the other "normally formed" families opinions or judgments about our lives.  The differences are complicated.  Then when someone dares to question our differences we boldly stand up, puff up our chest and proudly defend and advocate for our children and our decisions. 

But, for one three day weekend a year, over 300 of us get together, we stop tip toeing, we stop defending and we just get to be normal in a crowd.  Granted, we do continue to advocate, because we all know, that the beings who are our children, could just as easily have been dammed by bureaucracy and chosen ambivalence.

Those of us who come to Kazapalooza are so very different (as could easily be said about the entire adoption community.)  We all have a wide variety of spiritual beliefs, political views, nationalities, we very in economic status, in blue collar and white collar jobs.  Our reasons for adopting are also extremely different.  And, for one three day weekend a year, none of that matters at all.  What matters is each family there took a huge leap, emotionally, physically, financially... to do something very few people are able to actually accomplish.  There are thousands of reasons why there are millions of orphans, but this weekend was about the thousands of reasons that we made a small dent in that number. 

There is something about this willingness and follow through of a Kazakh adoption that connects all of us, way beyond all of the things that society has advertised to us as important attributes in a community.  I found my own mind waking up, able to express deep empathy for those with similar struggles and sheer pride and adoration for those working through tough stuff. 

Each year, we question, should we go? Can we afford it?  What about our gardens?  What about the chickens chicken (we are getting more, so expect more stories for next year, but hopefully not so deadly)?  It is so far.  The time is to short, no one we traveled with will be there... And the list goes on. 

And, each year we get there and I see my boys with others like them (except poor Isaac is now realizing that almost all kids adopted from China are girls but more on that later) and I talk to fellow moms and dads that I keep up with via facebook for the year, and I belong somewhere, and it is worth it. 

So somehow we will figure out a way to make it to Texas next year to reconnect, recharge and be "normal" for a few days. 

Thanks for a great weekend planners, friends, fellow AP's and to all of our kids who we get to have the adventure of parenting.