Just adopt

Just adopt.
I was in line at the post office the other day and overheard a conservation between two women in front of me. They were talking about a friend who must have been dealing with infertility. They were discussing the advice they gave her and not understaning why she didn't seem open to it. I silently chuckled. The one lady then said, well I told her she should just adopt and the other lady agreed. She said it would be so easy to have her family and she could get over being so sad. I bit my tongue as I truly was in no mood for discussion or confrontation, as I was cranky all week I didn't need to go off on anyone!

But it just amazes me that people think you can "just adopt" and poof instant family, like you walk down to the adoption office and come home with a baby. It got me thinking, why do people think this way, why would think it is so easy and I came up with this conclusion.
When women are pregnant you see their progress, you know it has a distinct beginning and end point. You watch them get bigger, they talk about it a lot.
I think a good chunk of people do not openly talk about all the details in their adoption process. Many people go thru a lot to get to that point, so they decide not to share every detail with friends and family and many times it is not shared until a referral comes along or a baby is born and then boom---instant family.
Yes there are a lot of us who do openly share each part of the journey and what goes into it from the paperchase to the referral to the trips and the arrival home, but I do not believe the majority of people involved in adoption do. Not to mention the fact that the media from news, to TV shows to movies do not always portray adoption in the correct light and that leads to a lot of misinformation as well.
So I am sure many people truly do believe adoption is as easy as calling an agency and signing up. So I decided how can you fault people for not knowing how tough it is to adopt and all you have to go through to bring your child home.
Obviously there will always be the idiots out there who will put you down for whatever you choose whether it be medical interventions or adoption. Even people within the adoption community tend to criticize other people for not selecting the journey they feel is right (i.e adopting from the US-your own country, as opposed to going overseas). These are the people whose minds or opinions will never change and that is ok.

So I am sure I will continue to snicker when I hear those words and maybe the next time I will ask them what they really know about the adoption process.