National Adoption Day 2010

Today is National Adoption Day. 

From Wikipedia:

National Adoption Day was started in 2000 by the Alliance for Children's Rights through the generous support of the Freddie Mac Foundation, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and others.

In November 2000, National Adoption Day sponsors worked with law firms, state foster care agencies, child advocates, and courts to complete hundreds of foster care adoptions in nine jurisdictions nationwide. In November 2001, 17 jurisdictions participated in National Adoption Day. In 2002, Casey Family Services, Children's Action Network, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and Target became National Adoption Day partners, helping 34 cities across the country finalize 1,350 adoptions and celebrate adoption.

By 2003, courts and community organizations in more than 120 jurisdictions coast-to-coast finalized the adoptions of 3,100 children and celebrated adoption. In 2004, courts and community organizations finalized the adoptions of more than 3,400 children from foster care in 200 events in 37 states.

By the end of the 2000s, National Adoption Day is celebrated across the U.S., the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as more than 300 events are held each throughout the country to finalize the adoptions of children in foster care, and to celebrate all families who adopt. In total, more than 25,000 children have been adopted from foster care on National Adoption Day. Traditionally, National Adoption Day is celebrated the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

While primarily focused on foster care adoptions, today is a good day to help dispel some of the myths people unfamiliar with adoption in general believe to be true.

• Birth mothers regularly take children back months or years after the adoption is final.
• Adopted children are "damaged" emotionally.
• Adopted children are not the same or equal to biological children.
• Adopted children should be grateful they've been "rescued" from a bad situation.
• International is the most successful way to adopt a child.
• Adopted children will want to go live with their biological parents and grow to resent you.
• Adoption takes many many years to complete because all the good kids have already been snatched up by Angelina Jolie and Madonna.

So if you're in an adoption triad, (Child, Adoptive Parents, Birth Parents) today you are being celebrated.  Use it to spread the word about healthy adoption choices, and most of all, love your family.  Because adopted or not, well, you're pretty much stuck with them!