“What was the waiting like — the months, or years, before they arrived?”

Why this question

The pregnancy, the paperwork, the matching, the hoping — however you came to be theirs. What you did while you waited, and what the waiting did to you.

Capturing it in voice

• ·If they're old enough, hand them the phone and let them answer it themselves. Their phrasing is the treasure; don't tidy it.
• ·Don't script it. The ums, the tangents, the half-finished sentences — that's what their voice actually sounds like right now.
• ·Thirty seconds is plenty. A short answer you actually record beats a long one you keep meaning to.

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