Modern "Adoption"

I'm a huge fan of ABC's sitcom Modern Family. When the show first started three seasons ago, I was on the bandwagon from the get-go. It literally makes me laugh out loud and not many comedies can do that.

If you haven't seen or heard of it, the series follows three families (all related) one of which is a gay couple (Cam and Mitchell) who adopt a baby girl from China in the first season. Now in it's third season, the two have been in the process of adopting their second child in hopes of having a boy. Tonight's season finale titled "Baby on Board"  was as usual a loaded statement for the episode as several plot lines unfolded and then left us with a big surprise at the end, which I won't spoil.

I will, however, spoil Cam and Mitchell's part ... so if you care and haven't watched it yet, then stop reading.
SPOILER BELOW.

In a nutshell, the episode begins with Cam and Mitchell receiving a call from a birth family that have chosen the guys to adopt their baby boy. The birth mom is going into labor right then and there and the dads have to drop everything to drive south to the Cali/Mexican border to pick up the new baby. Once they arrive at the hospital, the show's writers take the liberty of poking fun at a classic telenova episode but with a disheartening end result being that Cam and Mitchell lose the baby.

As an adoptive parent, watching this episode brought up an array of emotions from our own journey: elation, stress, anticipation and a deep sadness. Amazing when a 30-minute TV show can do that.

I don't claim to be an expert on the adoption process and in fact, I know there are many ways and processes in which people are able to adopt. But to be honest, the portrayal of Cam and Mitchell's adoption experience seemed so primitive that I'm more wary of how the show might discourage it's fans' views of adoption rather than encourage it.

To get to the point - where was the support of an agency? It's an adoptive parent's worst nightmare...to get "the call" only to find out a birth parent has changed their mind. The media always tends to glorify what goes wrong in an adoption, I wish that once in a while they'd get it right or at least represent the norm.

We are so blessed by our agency. Throughout the entire process they ensured us over and over again that their number one concern was protecting us as the adoptive parents and the birth mother; protection from situations like what Modern Family portrayed. They work tirelessly and put forth an incredible amount of effort to see the adoption process thru for each party involved. We felt secured and reassured and I am so thankful for our experience.

My hope is that people watching can see past the Hollywood version and be set free from any fears they have of the adoption process.