A ton of titles danced in and out of my head for this post. Nothing lasts forever. It’s time for a change. Out with the old, in with the new.

And possibly my favorite…

But then I checked myself and realized that maybe, just maybe, those titles wouldn’t jive well with the whole “Forever Family” concept. You know, being so abrupt and all. Sometimes being true isn’t the only thing that matters.

And this is the longest title explanation in the history of Riddle from the Middle.

Way back in October of 2015 (nigh these three years ago) I launched Forever Family on Fridays as a space to talk freely about adoption. I wanted to create an open forum for discussing adoption in every light – its joys, its sorrows, all the ways a family falls into adoption and all the ways we struggle through. And it worked.

I’ve used this space to tackle everything from open versus closed adoption, privacy among peers, abandonment issues, and relationships with biological parents. Recently I’ve explored infertility and race issues in adoption, both of which led to really interesting discussion in the comments section. I’ve been honored each and every time one of you shared your story on this page, and I thank you for trusting us with your perspective.

But – you knew there’d be a but – we’ve reached a stage where my writing style and our lives can’t mix. I blabber on about stuff (you know it’s true), and honoring my older kids’ privacy is bound to slip if I keep talking through adoption stories on the blog. I can’t do that.

So today is my last “Forever Family” blog post. That doesn’t mean adoption won’t still show up on RFTM; how could something I feel so passionately about not pop onto the page? I’m definitely still planning to bring you voices from around the web, a collection of perspectives from all parts of the adoption triad. The truest lessons come from listening to people different from ourselves.

Thank you for the grace you’ve shown in this space over the last few years.