First off, I must give a very big thank you to my husband, Kevin, for putting up with me yesterday.
We got to the festival a little late (stuck behind an accident on Steveston Highway, and a pleading group of teenagers whose Canada-Day beverages of choice conflicted with local drinking-in-public laws).
We had a bit of trouble finding our table, and Kevin had to carry the heavy boxes around while we searched for the pavilion. So thank you, Kevin, for putting those muscles to good use and putting up with your wife!!
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Anyways, back to the festival.
The weather was perfect, and there were more people than I could possibly count... after we moved our table AWAY from the port-o-potties, we found a peaceful locale between a face painting booth and a Tai Chi info table. Chaos on one side, serenity on the other.
Interest was steady throughout the day... and not just in our wonderful goodies. (We had pens and carry bags and fun stuff for the kids... who can resist free stuff?? Apparently, no one!) I got to chat with people whose lives had been touched by adoption in many ways.... adult adoptees, sibling groups, adoptive parents, and of course, many people interested in adoption.
It was so reassuring to speak with prospective parents and find out that many were interested in teens!!! Yay!! Got lots of great feedback from the public in general, and it felt great to meet a lot of folks I hope to be meeting again at our workshops this fall.
My son was a great sport. He stayed for a few hours and sat in his stroller.
He played the part of poster child fairly well (though of course that wasn`t our intent... he came to enjoy the festival.... but he`s the type of kid that demands attention and laps it up!) And, proud mother that I am, couldn`t hide him from interested parents who wanted to hear my adoption story as they shared theirs with me.
Overall a very lovely day. I only burnt one shoulder this year. (And my nose... how could I forget to sunscreen my nose!? It's only eight feet wide!)
Next year I will:
a) enlist the help of more volunteers, because I'm pretty sure Kevin will be nowhere to be found!
b) Bring paperweights... although when the wind picked up and the brochures went flying, I told the helpful people that stopped to help me pick them up, that they were "meant" to have the pamphlets on adoption. It's a good 'sales' tactic.... we got a lot of info out to passerbyers that way!! Hmmm... maybe I`ll leave the paperweights at the office after all...
