Preparing for the next book in the series.

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the fact that this chapter is nearing an end. Or is it the end of a book? I do have an emotional attachments to many books, if not all books, that I read. I've never found myself feeling a loss at the end of a chapter, but on more than one occasion feeling sad, and at a loss, at the end of a book. Before you start to classify me as "normal", take note that I only read non-fiction. It's not about the end of the story, it's not about happily ever after... the books I read are lessons to move me forward into the next stage or deeper into the current stage of my life.

Most vividly, I remember coming to the end of the "The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching" By Coach Dean Smith former basketball coach for North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I was so sad to come to the end of that book. I learned so much from Coach Smith, he was like a mentor. The point here is that I was sad at the end; there was closure and a time to move on. What I learned I would take with me, but I couldn't go back. You can re-read a book, you can recall a memory, you can, but it's not the same as the first time.

While I am thinking of that book and Coach Smith, I want to mention a lesson I learned from that book. "Point to the Passer" - encouraging players who scored a basket to point a finger at the teammate who passed them the ball, in honor of the passer's selflessness. What a great take-away. Point to the passer, the person who made it possible through their selflessness. The game of life is not something you do alone. You can't score all the points without assistance from those around you. It's not about me, it's not about my skill, it's about making sure the person next to me trusts me, and I trust him or her, and we can plan to be successful together.

Let me point to a few "passers" in my life.
- God, seriously I have been entrusted with a lot a blessings, gifts and talents... I assume I am entrusted with what I am willing to take, as well as what I am able to manage.
- Grandma Babe - She gave me the power, she gave my mother the power, to be a strong woman, to get what you want out of life. Make decisions and don't let life happen to you. And when life does happen, make the best of every bit of it.
- My parents - The sacrifices they made, the opportunities they missed out on so that I could be successful. I am grateful, and anyone who thinks that I have ever accomplished anything or have been successful at anything or have made good choices, should look at my parents, my role models. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be raised by these people! Selfless!
- Trent - here is the greatest example of pointing to the passer. My life partner, my equal. Always willing to share the ball with me and to be selfless. Supporting me in parenting, career, womanhood, and equality in marriage and life responsibilities. Supporting me in who I am and knowing when I am too tired to have the ball passed to me in the first place. And most importantly allowing me to take the ball, when he could have made the shot just as easily.
- Family - From those I talk with twice a day, to those I talk with once a year... to those I have never met. The network and support system created by all these people, past, present, and future has been, and is key to my success. I'd like to thank them all!
- Friends - just too many to mention, all those referenced here in this blog and many who are not. People who have supported me, I couldn't have been successful in so many ways without all of my friends and supporters. Special thanks to Sister-In-Love, Soul Sister, and all my other Sisters. All women who have been willing to walk by my side in any and all of the crazy journeys I have attempted in my life. Without you there, the journey would have been lonely, wouldn't have been successful, or may never have started.
- Career partners - I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, I have indeed been the recipient of many balls from many, many passers in my career. I appreciate everyone who ever thought I was worthy to carry the ball, much less actually make the shot. If you didn't believe in me, I would have never made it to where I am today!
- Those who were just passing through - Thanks to those of you who barely knew me, or whom I didn't have the opportunity to meet, who left a ball in the air for me to catch. Maybe I made a shot or maybe I passed the ball again, but I hope I was a part of helping the ball move forward. Because it isn't about making the shot, it is always about moving the ball forward. I appreciate those who let me move the ball forward, and those who let me take the shot... it's not about me, it's about you.

I am just so grateful to all the people who have supported me in life! And I've still only been here a short time, I can't wait to see what's next. So many willing to be selfless, instead of selfish, allowing good to happen, sometimes in spite of their own wants or needs.

So back to my original point, there is a chapter here... or a book, that is about to end. It's a book in the series, there will be many more to follow. But the excitement of this book is due its review. This adoption journey has been fun and exciting, exhilarating to say the least! The wait is almost over. I have learned so much about patience (not that I have improved, just that I am more educated on the subject matter), I have learned about how to have friends and hopefully more about how to be a friend. I have realized how exciting life is for everyone and how we can all celebrate something new in our lives.

Some of you have heard me say this, but I want to put it in black and white:

If I made a wish list of things I might learn from this adoption process. If I choose exactly the way I wanted it to go, I couldn't have created a more perfect journey. I couldn't have possibly comprehended what I was about to learn.

If I made up the perfect child to match our family, if I described that child the best I could with all the perfect qualities to fit with my already perfect family, I could not have possibly made a list that would have included all the matching qualities we know of our little Tamene. He is absolutely a perfect match for our family... I am sure in the next book in the series, we will learn a lot more about that (the perfect matches and our areas of learning)... Today, today he is everything I could have imagined and more, so much more.

Here is acknowledgement that this has been an amazing journey. I have a lot of new, exciting and positive experiences ahead. But I want to make note of the loss I feel for the end of this portion of the journey. I know I will never be here in this exact place in life again, and this is good too. But right here, right now, I realize how much I have learned, how blessed I am, and I could only have learned these things through this journey. I am grateful for the journey, but sad in my own way to see it end. I know it has prepared me for the next book in the series. I am sad to say farewell, yet so excited to see what I am prepared for next!