Mitch's Christmas Wish

Mitch reviewing the ornaments before we decorate our Christmas tree.

We’re going to do something a little different with this blog post. Normally, our posts are from both of us, and are written in a shared voice. This post, however, is coming just from Mitch. It’s a look at what Christmas means to a prospective adoptive father, and it is written from Mitch’s point of view.

I like Christmas. I like the lights and decorations. I like the holiday spirit in the air. I even like fruitcake! Christmas is a time to celebrate with family and friends, and to share with the people we love. I’m a very lucky guy: I have my wonderful wife Susan and friends and family near and far. But Christmas is, more than any other time of year, a holiday made for children. We adults trade gifts and listen to Christmas songs, but Santa and Rudolph and presents under the tree are there for the junior set.

We’ve been trying to adopt for almost two years. This is the second Christmas we’ve spent hoping we would be able to hang a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament on the tree, the second Christmas we wanted to be able to put a tiny stocking up for our little one. While part of the spirit of the season is to share love with the ones we have, it’s hard not to dwell on the member of the family we’ve been waiting to join us for so long.

I don’t want this to sound too sad. I am happy and grateful to have the many people whom we love and who love us. But I want to dress up as Santa. I want to make Popsicle stick and glitter ornaments at craft time with our little one. I want to watch Rudolph and Charlie Brown with our beloved child. I want to be a dad.

That’s really all I want this Christmas, and all the other days of the year. I want to be a father. I want to be a force of good for a child. I want to make a little person feel safe and loved. I want to help a young mind to develop, and a young spirit to love. I want to share what I know, and learn more myself. That’s my Christmas wish.