Mount Pleasant Magazine May/June 2019

56 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ReadMPM.com feature A doptions come in all shapes and sizes — in- state, out-of-state, international, fostered, closed, open, infant or older. On paper it seems like an endless amount of boxes to check. But there’s a difference between an adoption “on paper” and an adoption in real life. There are emotions and big life changes for everyone involved; there are beautiful moments, and there are challenging ones as well. Many families across Mount Pleasant have opened their lives to adoption, but their experiences are not one-size-fits-all. These four families have shared their adoption experiences with us. THE DAILY FAMILY* (*Names and some details have been changed for privacy.) “There’s a Jody Landers quote that’s always on my mind: ‘A child born to another woman calls me Mommy. The magnitude of that tragedy and the depth of that privilege are not lost on me,’” Courtney Daily commented as she summed up her family’s adoption journey. Following years of unexplained infertility, Courtney and her husband, Dennis, began working with an adoption agency and were matched with an expectant mother soon after they began the waiting process but were devastated when she unexpectedly chose another family. “The only thing I could compare it to is a miscarriage BY ANNE SHULER TOOLE Opening Homes and Hearts Adoptive Families Bound by Love