Shownotes:

“You don't always know what your boundaries are until they're pushed or until they're questioned. And often you're still learning if you're even allowed to set a boundary. Because there's that whole notion of well, once you're here, you're kind of like on other people's terms.”

Meet Svetlana.

"I was adopted from Russia when I was six and a half in a closed adoption. I'm a preschool teacher full-time during the day and I do life coaching on the side."

Here's some of what we talked about:

• Why adoption anniversary "celebrations" can be painful for adoptees
• Setting boundaries around sharing your adoption story
• Finding Russian people and events
• Meeting other adoptees
• Things for prospective adoptive parents to consider before adopting
• Self-care practices she relies on

Annie's take-away for adoptive parents:

• Model setting boundaries when about talking about your family.

Katelyn's take-away for adoptees:

• Hold your boundaries around sharing your story. You don’t owe anyone your story.
• It’s important for people to understand how it causes trauma for adoptees to share our stories!
• Say thank you and give back to adoptees.