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Family
Spotlight
The Work of Childhood
By Tony Chiaviello and Winston Matranga
Kevin and Monica both wanted children. They decided to adopt and
were in the midst of completing the process when Monica found out
she was pregnant. The couple decided to focus on their newborn baby
boy, Jake, and put adoption on the backburner.
But the idea would not leave them alone. Whether it was fumes from
diapers, sleep deprivation or thinking that Jake needed a playmate,
Kevin and Monica decided to try again – right away –
to adopt a child.
Both Kevin and Monica worked in education and they saw large numbers
of children out there who needed supportive, loving families. Despite
the fact that they were able to have children, adopting was their
way of responding to a need.
Soon after they began the adoption process, Spaulding for Children
asked them to foster baby Jaxon, whom they lovingly accepted as
their own.
Monica admits that family and friends were wary at first. Concerned
for Jake’s welfare, well wishers feared he might be deprived
of attention, knowing that both Kevin and Monica worked full time.
But the couple knew they wanted more than one child and they felt
the more generous option was to adopt. And what better time to do
so than when they were already geared up from young Jake’s
birth? In the end, Jaxon found a fine home to call his own, and
family and friends got to see Jake discover the riches of brotherhood.
Kevin and Monica took the road less traveled: having a birth child
as well as adopting. They feel they made the right decision both
times.
Today, Jake and Jaxon happily romp around in the backyard, unaware
of how different things could have been. They are children, after
all, and are not concerned with anything but play: the work of childhood.
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