JANE BALLBACK

I am one of the luckiest women in the world. I have been married forty years to the “boy” I met in high school, I’ve had a fascinating and rewarding career as a Human Resource Consultant and Career Coach, and now that I’m retired I get to do volunteer work for non-profits whose missions are near and dear to my heart.

The best part of this story, though, is that along the way my husband and I adopted three children from Korea, who are now young adults. Being a parent was the hardest job I’ve ever done, and watching them grow and develop has been the experience of a lifetime.

I’ve always been an intensely curious woman and learning to be an adoptive parent was one of my greatest endeavors. Determined to be the best parent I could, I talked to adoption experts, read everything I could find about parenting adoptive children, and when I was “in over my head”, I worked with a gifted child psychologist, who is herself, adopted.
Like my great grandfather, I am a storyteller and have a remarkable memory for stories that make people, laugh, cry and along the way learn something useful. I’m also a natural people “reader” and fixer, and figure out how to solve most of life’s problems and challenges.

I was, by no means a “perfect” parent. Along the way I stumbled, survived, learned and laughed. I am told that my communication style makes me a perfect blogger, I’m hoping that is true. I love sharing my stories. The idea for this blog came out of the volunteer work I do for the Holt International Adoption Agency. For three years now I’ve been working with the Southern California social worker, helping to train parents who are waiting for their new arrival. He does the formal training and introduces the adoption theories and ideas – I provide the stories that bring the theories alive, and help new parents figure out what they are about to face. Everyone loves a good story, and mine are real, relatable and memorable.

I love talking to other adoptive parents, and know that they have wisdom to pass on to me. Thank you for participating in this communication and being willing to share your thoughts and stories as well.