It Doesn't Get Any Cooler Than This.

Adoption has been in the news a lot recently. Earlier this week Laura Ingraham announced on her show that she has adopted a little girl from Guatemala, and on Saturday my brother-in-law and his wife will travel to Armenia to pick up their new daughter. It's all the rage.

DIH's gorgeous daughter is adopted. Let me just say right away, there is nothing cooler than adopting a child. One day you're walking around empty-handed and the next you've got a baby in your arms. Your baby. I mean, come on, how cool is that?

You know from Day One it's your kid. Um... the baby doesn't necessarily know that, yet. The first few days she may stare at you with a "Who the hell is this???" look in her eyes. She may also be quite vocal about her feelings. This is good. It means she's paying attention and is no pushover. [Note to overseas airline passengers: try not to complain that the baby in seat 34 E is making too much noise. New parents who just spend 24 hours in the air and two weeks on the ground in some godforsaken corner of the world are in no mood to be conciliatory. Trust me.]

Of course there's tons of adjusting in store. Suddenly becoming a mommy in your 40s has its challenges. Like, playgroups. Playgroups are full of young children and their ridiculously youthful moms. When DIH walked into her first baby playgroup with Sophia in her arms, the group leader gave her a big smile and exclaimed, "You look too young to be a grandmother!" "Thank you, " DIH croaked.

But you make a lot of younger friends. Which is very, very cool. it has its odd moments, of course. Like when your fellow parents invite you to dinner and serve barbecued ribs and macaroni salad. You get this wistful, nostalgic feeling for a moment--"I remember when I could eat this stuff. Sigh..." Then you get a grip and load up you plate with whatever greed stuff that's around. Pull up your socks, suck in your stomach and eat your salad. It's good for you.

We adopted Sophia when DIH was 45. She is now seven. You do the math. By all reasonable standards DIH should be way past the "mommy" stage.

But she is not. At 52 she has a second-grader. And I have never, ever felt luckier.

There are so many special moments Sophia and I have shared. True story:
SOPHIA: "Mommy! I lost a tooth today!"
DIH: "Really? So did I!"

Last weekend my daughter made her First Holy Communion. Did you hear that? Her FIRST COMMUNION!!! And I, her 50-something mom, got to buy the white dress and the shoes and the little veil, and take the pictures and throw the party and beam with pride, all the while thinking "I CAN'T BELIEVE I FINALLY GET TO DO THIS!!! THANK YOU, GOD!!"

I'm telling you. Adoption rocks. Congratulations, Laura, and good luck on your mission, Kevin and Sonia. You're in for the ride of a lifetime. Welcome to the adoption club- we're a fun, fabulous group!