Happy "Gotcha" Day

05-17-2005 5,880 views Adoption 12 Comments

On a totally unrelated note - today is the 3rd anniversary of my daughter's "Gotcha" day. That's the day a child joins a family through adoption. Three years ago today a young, very small girl was placed in our arms... screaming. (And she is still loud - I can't wait till she is a teenager.)

12 Comments

Critter #

Commented on 05-17-2005 at 3:59 PM
well, happy Gotcha day to her!

barry.b #

Commented on 05-17-2005 at 8:38 PM
Ray, good on you and your partner in taking on this responsability - and surviving 3 years so far. It's hard work being a parent but adding a family member from a "cold start" is even tougher.

It's a special relationship that's even stronger than blood - pure love, compassion and selflessness.

of this I know from experiance.

best wishes to all three of you
barry.b

john #

Commented on 05-20-2005 at 4:05 PM
congratulations. My wife and I adopted almost four years ago and within a week my wife realized she was pregnant. instant family. Guess which one we adopted.
john-amy dot com

Raymond Camden #

Commented on 05-20-2005 at 4:13 PM
You got me. The girl looks older - so I'm assuming the girl?

John #

Commented on 05-20-2005 at 4:26 PM
Bingo. We went thought three failed adaoptions before she blessed our world.

John McKown #

Commented on 06-15-2005 at 1:25 PM
Adopted two myself. A boy and a girl - twins. Got em when they were three months old. 4 now. Love em more than anything.

Steve_the_Old_Man #

Commented on 06-30-2005 at 10:48 AM
Awesome!
We went through a failed adoption. In retrospect, it was probably for the best. The birth mom finanlly realized what she was missing and got herself together. The kids got 8 months of stability & love. The kids were old enough so that they knew who their birth mom was.
I learned an **invaluable** lesson in parenting. I'm a lot less rigid. Just wish I figured it out while those kids were still with us.
Because of that experience, I think I'm a better parent for our son, who we officially adpoted a year ago. This little guy's truly amazing, but I'm biased!!
Again, congratulations - you're all blessed.

arac #

Commented on 03-24-2007 at 12:31 PM
Gotcha Day is a special event for my husband, my son, and me. Unlike the huge party we give for his birthday, we prefer a small celebration on his adoption anniversary. Our son knows that this is his special day, and we allow him to choose the theme. Last year it was the children’s museum, a movie, and lunch at his favorite restaurant. Although his adoption book is always available to him, on this day in particular, we pull it out and share his adoption story and our excitement over his joining our family. He loves this part of the day.
<a href="http://www.umutdolu.com/arac-otokiralama/">...;

Susan #

Commented on 05-10-2007 at 12:43 PM
Adoptive parents - PLEASE stop with the "Gotcha Day" business. It is so upsetting. We are not fish or squirrels to be "caught" or "gotten."

Celebrating coming together as a family is a wonderful thing. Calling it "Gotcha" day is beyond offensive.

http://thirdmom.blogspot.com/2006/08/going-gotcha-...

Raymond Camden #

Commented on 05-10-2007 at 3:24 PM
Susan, you have an interesting point of view, but we are going to have to agree to disagree. I've never heard of an adoptive parent/child being offended by the term 'Gotcha.' Obviously you have - and different people will get offended by different things. For example, I get pretty ticked when the announcer on one of my favorite shows refers to a characters 'real' father.

Steve_the_Old_Man #

Commented on 05-11-2007 at 11:33 AM
Susan, I'd never really of "Gotcha Day" until I came to this website sometime last year. Since I'd heard it I'd just never used it, though. No reason one way or the other. But I've never thought of the term as degrading or anything, like if it was called something like, say, "Acquisition Day". I guess the term "Gotcha!" always seemed like it was kind of playful to me. But to each...we all have those things that just run up our spine. Personally, mine is when someone says "Oh, he's a lucky boy!" if they find out he's adopted...to which I'll usually politely reply "We're ALL lucky." His "luck" depends on my parenting skills that particular day ;-) My wife & I, on the other hand, are absolutely blessed to be able to share in this child's life.

Amy #

Commented on 10-12-2007 at 2:10 PM
Hmm, I've never heard of "Gotcha Day" myself... I vaguely know the day my parents were blessed with me. ;) I believe it was July... but it never was anything that was celebrated.