The Gay Parenting Show #009 (MP3 22MB 1hr 02 min)
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

October 15, 2005: Today’s show is a sad one, as I talk about the termination of our recent adoption. After the baby was home with us for 18 days, the birth mother reversed her decision, and the baby was taken away. It was an awful time for me, my partner, and our other son.

I truly believe that parenting is great, but becoming a parent isn’t always easy. Today’s show looks at one of the most painful experiences that can happen on the road to building a family. But I think it’s important that we share with each other not only the good times, but the hard times as well. Hopefully, our story will help others better understand the adoption process, and be better prepared for some of the potential pitfalls.

In the second half of the show, I talk about the adoption with Molly Carlile, a great person who is an Accredited Grief and Bereavement Counsellor. Molly has a podcast called Dead Serious (like mine, also on The Podcast Network). She helps me understand where I am in the grieving process, and how to move forward. I think her words will be helpful to anyone who struggles with how to deal with a traumatic loss – which is to say, everyone.

But even in the dark times there is always light. I am mindful that what happened to us isn’t the worst thing that can happen to someone, and everyday I count my blessings.

Good people and friends are some of those blessings. I want to thank everyone who read about the adoption and who posted messages of support on my show’s blog. They mean so much to me.

Speaking of the show, this week’s is the first ever to be sponsored by Motorola. Kudos to them for sponsoring all of the shows on The Podcast Network, including this one. “The Gay Parenting Show – brought to you by Motorola.” How cool is that?

I also have to thank the makers of Skylook, a program which integrates Skype and Microsoft Outlook, which I used to record my interview with Molly.

Lastly, this week I had hoped to offer our first drawing. The wonderful author Arlene Istar Lev has donated a copy of her book, The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide, to a listener of the show. Arlene was a guest on the first episode of The Gay Parenting Show (download it now if you haven’t already – Arlene’s a delight!). Thanks Arlene for your continued support. Oh, and she was going to autograph it for you, too.

However, it turns out that I am legally prohibited from having a “drawing.” In some countries where this show airs, a drawing is considered a “game of chance” and it’s against the law. So, I’ll have to think of another way to make this available to you. Stay tuned.

By the way - I found out I couldn’t have the drawing AFTER I posted today’s show. So, I had to go back into the file and cut out all the references to it. I say this just in case I missed one, or in case you hear an odd cut.

Hopefully, I’ll never have reason to record another show as sad at this one. Next week, we’ll return to our usual happier mix of news and interviews. If all goes as scheduled, we’ll also have a very special guest on. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, please continue to post your comments here and let me know your feedback. Thanks for being there.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 16th, 2005 at 7:40 pm and is filed under Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.