The following is an excerpt from Cayden's story. His full story can be found here.
Adoption is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Before adoption, my life was very uncertain and chaotic. Hi, my name is Cayden and I am 14 years old. Today, I would like to share with you what adoption has meant to me.
As with most children who have been adopted from foster care, my life has taken many twists and turns. My whole life could be flipped upside down in a matter of seconds and I could move to a new home with no warning. I would have to begin my life all over again with a new family.
I am grateful to my birth mother for doing what was best for me. While it did take her a long time, she did he most unselfish thing ever. Since she knew that she couldn't take care of me the way that I should be taken care of, she gave up her rights to me so a family that could meet my needs and love me could be found. It has taken me a long time to see that giving me up was what was best.
I met my parents on September 15, 2006. It is a day that I will never forget. I learned that I would have two sisters, one older than me and one younger than me and a huge family who couldn't wait to meet me. I was excited to learn that I would be making only one more move, and that move was to my forever family. I admit I was also a little scared.
Now I know that I never had a reason to be scared. After a couple of visits, I moved in with my family on December 16, 2006. I finally had a family of my own! I had parents, two sisters, and later another sister to make three. I had pets, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that I would never have to leave again. I now had a permanent family to celebrate holidays and birthdays with. I had a family that I could love and who loved me for me. I had my own room with my own things and I knew that at the end of the day, I would come back to this very room every single night to go to sleep.
My parents are strict and believe it or not I am thankful for that. Without them being really strict, I really think I would be a wild child today. They have high expectations of me, and they believe I can meet those expectations.
I hope all kids in foster care get what I have been given - a chance at life without uncertainty and chaos. A life of love, happiness and family that will always be there for us.
All of these things and more is what adoption means to me.
For more stories from adoptive families, please visit the following links:
Sharon's Story from the Adoption Picnic
For more information regarding adoption, please contact Wanda Audette at
(802) 864-7467 or via email at wandaa@lundfamilycenter.org.
PO Box 4009