Hey Everyone!
We all made it back safely from Ethiopia! I want to give you a quick update about the trip, but I don’t even know where to start. It was by far one of the most important trips I’ve ever taken in my life. Obviously the highlight was meeting Samuel’s birth mother at the center, then spending a day at her home.
In other news:
We are on the cover of Pathways to Family Wellness Magazine! The publication interviewed me a couple of weeks after the TIME cover and decided to deconstruct the cover and display breastfeeding past infancy in an authentic way. The bizarre attention from TIME was still going strong when we agreed to do this shoot, but this relationship with Pathways was supported with API and we knew we were in good hands. It was nice to be able to tell our story and show toddler breastfeeding in a way we knew would not be manipulated. **(No TIME did not manipulate us, but the media has since tried to manipulate and give “Jamie Lynne Grumet” a persona that does not represent me, our family, or our message. The only reason I’m writing this is because another person attempted to write an article and claimed I was “manipulated by TIME” from this post. Ironically, her manipulation and out of context quotes was exactly what I was referring to)** The article is wonderful, we really are so thankful that there are non-profit magazines like Pathways trying to educate people about conscious parenting. Anyway, go check it out! There are multiple articles from anthropologists and medical professionals discussing the normalcy of “attachment parenting.”
I think the most beautiful part of this experience came from meeting Lori Dorman. Lori came to our home to photograph this deconstructed cover. By the end of the shoot she had decided to come to Ethiopia with us. Lori is also an adoptee and had such a great outlook during the trip. She captured photos from the birth family that she knew would be important to Samuel that even I, as the adoptive mother, may have overlooked. We were so blessed to have her on this journey with us.
Another wonderful aspect of Pathways is their desire to expand our small view here in the West. I am so excited about their December issue because I’ll be chronicling this past trip to Awassa, Ethiopia and speaking specifically about the importance of the Awassa Children’s Project for the Sidama region of Ethiopia.
- Photo by Lori Dorman. Children of ACP.
