Recently, I had the privilege of going to a live production of UND’s Studio One TV news show with some of my coworkers. It was great to see the other side of television, and to hear what they had to say in person.

I have often wondered how all of the cues work and what the anchors look like in real life, what they do during their breaks, how the news stories are put together, etc., so it was very enlightening. The specific stories that were covered in the production were especially interesting.

My favorite was about a Grand Forks mom and dad who just got the go-ahead to adopt internationally. They talked about how looking at the picture of the little girl they are going to adopt really felt like looking into the eyes of their daughter. This was really touching… even though it’s all stuff I’ve heard before.

What I didn’t realize was how much adoption can cost. On average, adopting a child internationally is $25k. I suppose that adoption agencies have the best possible marketing campaign, in that they can say that you can’t put a price on a human life…but I don’t think that’s quite how it works. The adopting mother was on the set talking with Anne, the anchor, and she talked about how she is a stay-at-home mom and that her husband doesn’t make a ton of money, but that they were passionate about adopting and so they made it happen. So simple.

Apparently, the couple has a flourishing garden, because they made a chunk of money at the Grand Forks farmer’s market this summer, and they also have done many fundraisers. The woman’s message to everyone listening was that if you are passionate about something, especially adoption, you can make it happen if you really want it. Although this is something we have all heard again and again over the years, it’s wonderful to see someone actually work hard to pursue a passion and then to succeed. It never hurts to be reminded that we should go for what we truly want.

Maybe I’ll start my own garden… who knows where it will take me 🙂