The Best Possible Worst Choice

  "I could never do that!" "What kind of person gives up their child" "How could they just give them away like that?!"  D and I have heard these sorts of things and worse since we brought Sky home.  My reaction has always been to say that I've been very blessed in my life to never need to make that kind of choice.  This left turn in our lives has made me think more about hard choices and what I would do for Earth if I had to.

 I'm hoping to start work soon and when I do, I will be leaving Earth with Mama Elizabeth, his birth mother, while I'm gone.  It's going to be a long day for him away from me, his last familiar thing, in a place he doesn't know where people speak a language he doesn't understand and don't act the way he expects them to.
  I know that kids are resilient and that Earth will probably adapt to all those changes just fine but since I'm a planner and a worrier (I know, not a great combination!), I started to come up with contingency plans.  I have friends that live on Kwajalein and I know from our experience that the Army will allow a family to bring a child on island if they have legal guardianship of that child. Theoretically, Earth could come live on Kwajalein with another family and go to school here. When I told my friends about my idea, it was a joke; just another example of what our legal conundrum is forcing us to consider.
  But it seems less funny to me now.  Could I give up my child, voluntarily let him live with another family if that was what was best for him?

  Know what? It would rip my heart out but I would do it.  I don't think our situation will force me to make that choice but I would let Earth go if it meant safety, comfort, a better education, and a healthier home.
  I've always said that adoption is the best possible worst choice and I finally understand what it means for someone to make that decision.