A weekend encountering J and Sweetpea

This weekend we went away. To watch a beloved friend get married. It was incredibly romantic and the place hummed with love. The quote on the order of service summed it up:

"Love is friendship on fire" Jeremy Taylor

And....

We saw Rupi's birthparents, J and Sweetpea. It was good. We talked on the way down about seeing them and tried to put ourselves in their shoes. What would it be like to see Rupi? To watch him grow up in our house with us as parents? I cannot fathom what they feel like and the closest I get is utter heartbreak. But I know that's me putting my emotion on the situation and I can't presume to understand their feelings.

We saw J first and spent time with him while he was on a work break. We hadn't seen him since Rupi's birthday last November so we were really looking forward to the visit. We have seen tons of his Mom and stepfather who are awesome but it's not the same (!) I marvelled at how similar Rupi looks to J. Rupi is a bigger build but has J's facial features. As I never shy away from asking an awkward question I asked J how he felt seeing how similar Rupi is to him. "A little freaky to see myself replicated" was the reply. J had very little to do with Sweetpea after the deed so I think the whole situation was taken longer to sink in and come to terms with. I think its been a hard year for him and seeing Rupi was really good for him. He loved it and Rupi eventually deigned to sit on his lap. It was super cute!

Then on Sunday morning we saw Sweetpea. We first went to her parents house (Sweetpea was at work) and her Mom said that Sweetpea wanted me to see her bedroom. She's just done it up and it's gorgeous. There's a little board with photos of Rupi and lovely phrases on it. We regularly send of photos to her in frames of her and Rupi or just of Rupi. Every single one is displayed. There's an "R" decorated with words like "my baby" and I love you". It was so good to see. Rupi is so loved.

We then visited her at the cafe she works at. She's told everyone she works with and Rupi was like a little celebrity. We met her friends and her co workers. Rupi is someone Sweetpea celebrates out loud about. J is still working through talking about Rupi to his extended family. That's ok, they are at different stages of a journey.

Rupi with Sweetpea's Mum- his birth grandmother

Rupi playing with trains that Sweetpea's brother had as a child. Super cute generational continuity!

All that I know is how blessed Rupi is. To know that he is so loved and wanted by both his birth parents. And adoption doesn't get much better than that!