Jay McCullough and his partner, of Centerville, GA, had only three weeks to get ready for four-month-old Andreas' arrival when they got the call that their adoption had been approved.
Andreas was born at Grady Hospital to a 42 year-old mother of four other children who simply could not afford to support another child. What a difficult decision this must've been for her, but she was at least able to choose Jay, a 40 year-old Spanish teacher at Drew Charter School, and his same-sex partner, who is black, from among several profiles of heavily-vetted prospective adoptive parents.
While they bond with baby Andreas and allow the birth mother time for postpartum recovery, they do see a future day when Andreas can meet his siblings.
It may go without saying, and yet, I really MUST say it:
Seeing these two still enjoying the mountain, a natural wonder at the center of their very community (their home is just south of Snellville, about fifteen minutes from the park)—so soon after the freakish, obscene spectacle of a "white power" rally this past Saturday—did my spirit a whole lot of good.
The Mountain
"The mountain sat upon the plain
In his eternal chair,
His observation omnifold,
His inquest everywhere.
The seasons prayed around his knees,
Like children round a sire:
Grandfather of the days is he,
Of dawn the ancestor. "
— Emily Dickinson
The Poem that Took the Place of a Mountain
