Imagine my surprise when I went to print the enrollment forms for my child's new school, only to discover that Stepparents*, Foster parents*, Guardians*, and Other* (meaning anyone other than parents, mother, or father) are considered unnatural. There it was in black and white: "*If student lives with someone other than natural parents" pick one of the previously listed and "appropriate documents should be presented at the time of enrollment."
While they specifically did not mention adoptive parents in this exclusionary list, I am sure that when we adoptive parents get down to the word "unnatural," they expect us to equate the word unnatural to biological, or birth parents and fess up. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
The word unnatural, according to Webster's II, new College Dictionary means: not conforming to natural law, inconsistent with the usual patterns of behavior, or (and my personal favorite) deviating from the accepted or natural modes of behavior.
I'm sorry, but I find nothing deviant, unusual, or non-conformist in adoption. Instead, I believe that adoption is a natural part of God's plan. There is no doubt that my children are the ones that God meant for me and no one, not even the Greenville County School System can tell me otherwise. I will be checking the box marked Parent.
D.