gotcha day..

recently I'm seeing a lot of people talk about how they celebrate gotcha day, and it's just such a weird concept to me.. especially when it's celebrated like a birthday.
I haven't heard of anyone who didn't also celebrate their actual birthday, but somehow acting like gotcha day is a birthday is almost..slightly negating the Korean part?
we didn't start our lives in an airport, or the day we were handed over.

I dunno, maybe it's not negating anything, but when I think about the concept of gotcha day it just stirs something defensive in me.

I know people also do celebrate their actual birthday, I guess I just don't understand the need to make a special fuss about gotcha day.
lots of adoptees have siblings biological to their adoptive parents, should they then get a conception day or 1st sonogram day or..?
and why make that distinction between adoptive and biological children? or maybe families with both never celebrate gotcha day..

I never celebrated gotcha day, and you might be thinking I'm just regretful and jealous, but I'm really not.
I do know some Danes do it too, but as far as I can tell, hearing from adoptees around the world, this is a primarily US custom. I don't know anyone personally who celebrates it, so I've never had anyone to be jealous of.

meh. I'm ranting and probably not making much sense.
I just sometimes get a little tired of "special days" in general. every day should be special, and you should appreciate and love people every day, not just cos the calendar tells you to.

yeah, I said it...

I'm a member of several Facebook groups for Korean adoptees, and for some reason some of them have been extremely active lately.

obviously, I'm a member by my own choice, but it can be really emotionally draining to see post after post in my news feed because it obviously brings matters to my attention and triggers feelings.

I do

I just read an article in the NY Times about a 41 year old woman, an adoptee, who went back to Korea in 2004, and who, apparently, has been a leading part of the campaign that eventually lead the country to change its laws, so for the first time ever it's actually stipulated, that the country should reduce international adoptions of Korean children.

The government provides stipends for domestic adoptive parents and single mothers who wants to keep their children, and there has to be a period of at least 6 months wherein a child is sought to receive domestic adoptive parents before it is made available for international adoption. 

New mothers also have to spend the first week after giving birth with their child, while receiving counselling about the possibilities of keeping the baby before she can relinquish custody.