When I was eighteen years old I went to a book signing with my close friend Sam. We stood in line for what seemed like forever to have Anne Rice scribble on our tattered soft cover books and we squealed like stereotypical school girls after Ms. Rice displayed a modicum of interest in the two of us asking about our lives and inquiring about our dreams for the future.
After that brief moment of time when the air crackled with excitement for Sam and myself, the two of us walked out of the trendy small book store, arm and arm and wandered into a nearby coffee shop so we could dissect our experience and relive each moment over and over again through our conversation.
Samantha, very much a poet, looked straight into my eyes and told me, “That was an electric moment in my life. A slice of life so vivid and outstanding I will cherish it until the day I die.”
Her words echoed in my head and long after Samantha died and Anne Rice stopped writing about vampires, the phrase ‘electric moment’ lives on.
Wednesday morning, I relived that bookstore signing over and over in my head. I thought about all the electric moments I have had in my life and wondered, no, worried, that meeting my new son wouldn’t be one of them.
What if he didn’t like us? What if we didn’t like him? What if he smelled?
I was bouncing around with nervous energy, trapped in a small vehicle hurling down a high way, annoying my darling husband with every worried glance I shot at him. The two hour car trip to meet our son seemed to take forever.
Even live tweeting didn’t make the time go any faster.
(It was an honest oversight. I swear I just forgot and didn’t drive past the gas station the night before thinking I was too tired to bother and my husband could do it the next day. Really. Scouts honour.)
(How can a man listen to brash rock and roll when his life is on the brink of a reality-changing precipice? Seriously dude. I don’t get you.)
(Funny, Boo was unamused by this offer and my tweet. Hmmm.)
(I’m about to be a new mommy. There should be a law stating it’s mandatory to sing with Captain Hammer.)
(It was getting hard to twitter with his fingers wrapped around my neck. Road trips with me are FUN. I swear.)
(I don’t care what you say dear hubs. If you don’t know where you are or how to get where you need to be you are lost. Not directionally challenged. Full fledged LOST.)
(When one is ten minutes late to meet one’s new son and emotionally charged, one should not politely insist freak out demanding one pull over to ask for directions. Unless one would like one’s head bitten off by an annoyed spouse. Just so y’all know.)
Thankfully Boo and I finally got to be where we were suppose to be.
There are no adequate words to explain how one feels knowing her son is just on the other side of the door.
I can’t even begin to explain how my heart burst into a million tiny pieces when my son was wheeled out to greet his father and I, smiling from ear to ear and asking for his first high-five.
Or how the ocean of grief I have been treading time in for the past three years suddenly parted like the Red Sea when my new son laughed so hard with me he all but wiggled out of his wheel chair and peed through his pants.
That morning was filled with one electric moment after another.
There will always be a cloud in my skies, a scar on my heart and a tear on my cheek for the little boy I loved and lost. But life hasn’t seemed this vibrant for all of us in a very long time.
I’ve never been more delighted to squint at the blinding brightness of happiness.
Thanks for sharing this long road with my family and myself. If you hadn’t been here to hold my hand along the way I can’t guarantee I’d be wearing this silly mommy grin and wondering if it’s wrong to use my son as a lint collector as he crawls on the floor.
It’s with great pleasure I introduce you to my son. (Feel free to leave a blog pseudonym suggestion in the comment box. I’m stumped.)
One of our very first cuddles. He is fascinated with the size of my nose. Apparently, it’s highly honkable.
My boy has tight fists. He’s going to be a great boxer.
I could pose for pictures with him all day long. My son, however, has other ideas and is bored of this game.
Getting ready for his first sleep in his brand new forever bed. The puppy was eager to join him.
And finally, I’d like to thank Kristen, Catherine and Katie for throwing together a Redneck Shower for the kid and I. There are no adequate words to express our gratitude and affection for all of you.
Plus, I’m dying laughing at the prizes available and I can’t wait to read how I’m not the only redneck mommy in the world. I can’t be the only gal who has accidentally spray painted her son’s penis with bright red paint. Can I?













Eternal Sunshine
Congratulations. I have been praying that things would work out for you and your family. So glad to hear that you have grown by one…
Kat
I managed not to cry reading this post, until I saw the photo of your first cuddle. Your arms around him, so tight, so…certain. He’s yours and you are his. Congratulations.
Beth
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful…
Liz
Delurking to say YAY!!! This is so great to hear. The only pseudonym I can think of for him is Bonus, because that’s what he is. I think Bonus would flow nicely
Shawn Trotti
I found you through Anissa.
I was sad for you.
I was entertained by you.
I was hopeful with you.
I am thrilled for you!
Congratulations!
J from Ireland
The best news I have heard in a while. Congratulations to you all.
Jenny
AMAZING! Congratulations! I shed a few tears of shared happiness as I read your entry. I like Zorro as well.
Mandy/Mommy Cracked
He is adorable!! I know you guys are just over the moon and beyond!! I can’t wait to hear more about your new SON!!! Congratulations!
Becky
Delurking to say congratulations! I have laughed and cried as you’ve shared. I am SO happy for your family!
Sissy
Congratulations to you and your family! I can’t wait to read more about your new son.
Binky
Welcome home, little guy!
WhyMommy
Hurrah! Yay, Tanis, and yay, yay, yay for your new son!
deb
So, so happy for you and your family, Tanis!
I am adopted child myself. You are all so blessed to have found one another!
I kinda like “Zap”, too- for this amazing, electric moment!
chris
i couldn’t be any happier for someone who i’ve never met in real life! i can’t stop the tears from rolling down my face. (10 years ago, my oldest and i took an electric ride into the romanian countryside, bringing home a little boy to three more sibs, a dad, and a dog- and life has never been the same.) i wish you an unending flow of blessings from all directions for forever!
Karly
Tanis, I am so happy for you and your family!
The Estrogen Files
Woo hoo!! Conga-rats!!
deb
Amazing Grace
sumo
Are you kidding me? I take a couple weeks off from checking up on Redneck Mommy and I miss all this? That’ll teach me. Congratulations!
jen
How AWESOME. I think you should call him the frog
Sherendipity
Wow.
There are no words to express how happy I am for you.