When We Adopted Aurora

When we adopted Aurora
There was a process
A natural process
Unlike what others may tell you

We heard the usual 'not yours' and 'not biological'
And 'nature' and 'nurture'
And 'adopted children turn out to be troubled'
And 'serial killers' and 'won't look like you'
And 'bad' and 'sad' and 'pity'
And 'barren' and 'fertility'

We heard it
And we didn't hear it
And we didn't care to hear it
And we left it
Where it was

When we adopted Aurora
She was brought to us
Like sunshine is brought
To the darkest place on earth

With great amounts of joy
And celebration
And relief

She did not look like us
This much is true
But she had my mother's eyes
And Richard's father's comb-over

Luckily, the second feature
Would fade rapidly with time

My sister wouldn't put Aurora down
And eventually Aurora became a part of her arms
And she could put the baby to sleep
Just by holding her and singing her name
Over and over again

I remember there was more food in the house
When we adopted Aurora
Then I had ever seen
In my entire life

People came from all over the world
Just to make sure that the baby
Was healthy and fed

And Mr. Sands down at the clock store
Set off fireworks over City Hall
To commemorate her first words

"Pumpkin Patch"

This was truly a special child

She could clap before she could walk
Applauding those who made her laugh
A seemingly endless parade of jesters
Everyone wanted to make my daughter smile

She removed every piece of clothing I put on her
Aurora wanted to be a river child
She wanted to fall into every canyon
Rip up every patch of fresh earth
And bury herself in it
So she could come up like a flower
And make the moon her only night light

But when I put her in a dress
She only squirmed a little

"Pumpkin Patch"

Fifteen years after we adopted Aurora
She asked us how she came to be

She understood birthdays
And biology
And she understood
That her path to us
Was different from those
Of all her friends
And their parents
And their paths

And we told her the truth

We told her that the Universe conspired
To love a child so much
That the normal way of conceiving it
Was simply unthinkable

We told her that the Aurora Borealis
Shouted out to us
Two people with so much love
That if we would name our child after it
It would pool its light down in one spot
And create not only the most perfect child that ever walked the earth
But a safe and happy path
By which its parents would receive it

We told Aurora that she was passed
From one loving set of arms to another
Until she reached us

And that after we convinced her aunt
To let us have her for at least a few hours a day
There was simply no separating us

That was how we knew she was ours
Because she fit perfectly
In our arms