When we first heard about “matching picnics”, J- and I groaned internally and thought that we would not want to go to one. It is basically a big event where a bunch of adopting parents get together with a bunch of available kids and their social workers. It seemed weird and uncomfortable to have these kids competing for the attention of the adults and hoping that one will choose them. Since then, our agency has set us straight. We have read the rules, which are set up to protect the kids and ensure that they have fun. Apparently, it is usually the adults that are uncomfortable and awkward, but the kids thrive on all of the attention. These events also have very good matching results. So, we have decided to go and next week, we will be attending our first.

It kind of feels like a blind date at this point. We don’t know if the kids that we are in conversation about will be there and I am not sure if we will find out as the day approaches. Regardless, there may be other kids there that we will want to inquire about. One thing is for sure, it will the first time that we will come face to face with actual kids needing a home.