Chapter 8:
Born in the USA
Meanwhile, a wonderful change of course was happening to Janet right here in the United States.
Very often in international adoption circles, we deride domestic adoption. The stress of the foster care system giving back children to abusive biological parents. Capricious birth parents changing their minds, courts giving them the children back after they’ve already spent years with their adoptive families. Tortuous social state workers looking over adoptive parents' shoulders, states placing children with families who kill the children. Who hasn’t read or seen these accounts and not wanted to even attempt an adoption from our own country?
Yet, Janet Ostrander (and others) is living proof that domestic adoption can happen and go smoothly.
In October 2004, during her back and forth with Slater and BBAS, Janet met a private adoption attorney in her home state. She had been keeping all channels open on the domestic front. She believes it was “divine intervention” which led her to this particular attorney.
Two months later, days before Christmas, Janet received an astounding telephone call from her attorney. He told her to meet him at his law offices in the afternoon. To bring clothes and a pen. He had a placement for her a 3 year old Caucasian boy being relinquished by his biological parents.
We feel it is important to keep Janet’s son’s origins confidential. We will not share details of how he came to be placed with Janet. Suffice it to say even in our own country, some biological parents have enough on their plates and cannot afford another mouth to feed. And they have to make difficult decisions about their children. In this case, the boy’s biological family made the right choice by contacting Janet’s attorney for a private placement.
Janet didn’t believe it. Certainly things couldn’t be that fast, could they? Yes, they could.
Just like the attorney promised, on December 21, 2004 Janet walked into her attorney’s office, signed the required documents and was the mother of Lance Ostrander, a three and a half year old little boy from her home state.
It was painless –and how many adoptive families can say that? Janet says Lance is “obvious proof that domestic adoption is possible and wonderful!” We could not agree more after sharing her joy (and her sharing Lance’s photos with us!)
The funny part about Lance’s adoption was Lee Slater was right. Janet did get a Christmas gift in the form of Lance (and he got a gift too – a loving parent), but not from Slater, Hubbard, Azerbaijan or the Republic of Georgia.
Christmas was a huge blur for the new mother and son. Everyday was a joy to Janet. She reports Lance is doing wonderfully, has certainly come alive since being with her, and she spends as much time being a good mommy to him as she had always dreamed she would.
One thing Janet did do. She sent a photo of Lance to both Slater and Hubbard. Slater told her congratulations – what’s HER name. Either Slater was going blind or didn’t know male from female. Unfortunately, Hubbard used this against her when Janet stepped up the pressure regarding her refund.