DC "We are One" Concert pictures - in no particular order again

By Joy A. Kennelly

Before bundling...

After bundling up...
Corcoran Gallery of Art
  My house-mate, Jeannette is an avid Democrat, yet we got along great! She really helped me get around and made sure I got places in time to see everything perfectly. She's a local which made her very knowledgable of everything. Thanks Jeannette!
This was the parade route already set up and secured with no access by Sunday.

Before the concert it was pretty empty.

This is volunteer extraordinaire, Jeannette. She & I connected after the concert and enjoyed dinner together before heading home.

This day was a blast, but also a little bittersweet because even though I had been contacting the adoptive couple for weeks to see if I could visit my son while I was back there, they kept saying they'd be gone and didn't let me know till  Sunday (despite my call on Friday to see if we could still connect before they left) that their plans had fallen through and would I like to come visit.

By then it was too late. The crush of people coming to town was too much to battle to head out to their home an hour away and they weren't able to come in to meet me any where either. I was really, really, really bummed because the next day was the pre-inaugural brunch with my Congresswoman, Jane Harmon, who had as her special guest, Civil Rights Leader, John Lewis, who I would have loved for Eli to meet.

Apparently, since they're beginning to consider becoming foster parents Eli has more curiousity about his adoption and all of sudden I have value for being in his life. That's the hardest part about this relationship. It feels like if Eli doesn't ask questions, or acts like he misses me, then the adoptive parents don't see the value of cultivating our relationship.

I know they don't mean to do this, nor are they even aware that's what it feels like, but when you try to speak to someone for months and months with no response only to have a call out of the blue because he has questions... To also learn that he wasn't given a present I had sent in November till January also really stung. What are they thinking?

Kind of makes you feel bad. That was a really bittersweet way to end my day because the concert was so uplifting and a total blast. It was a just a reminder of the role I play as a birthmother which isn't always easy. I hope Eli never doubts my love for him and realizes I try to reach out to him often. Maybe as he gets older he will realize he can reach out to me too.

I can only hope. I'm going to upload this blog and write more about the rest of my trip in a new one just so they don't get too long. Thanks for popping by.