K3201

Adoption

Amanda Beth Collins

Collins Cover Announcement 

Adoption

Amanda Beth Coffins

Two of our five children are adopted, so this stamp has obvious personal significance for Linda and me. On page 112 of our book that documents my first twenty years of cachetmaking, I provide a brief narrative of the very special and memorable trip during which Amanda and Ryan became part of the Collins family. A copy of that page is included.

The hand painted cachet features a drawing of Amanda as a young child and a portrait of her now as an adult. A special artistic technique was used to capture a realistic likeness (also used for my ongoing -Baseball Legends" set), and I'm sure you'll enjoy this First Day Cover very much. A second cachet will soon be announced for our son, Ryan, and I hope you'll add both to your collection.

Our cachetmaking has been a family business that became intrinsically entwined with the raising of our sons and daughters. As such, these covers are directly related to Collins First Day Covers, and I think they will become important 1-1)Cs for any collector who specialized in my cachets. More importantly to Linda and myself, they are a permanent and everlasting philatelic expression of love for our two adopted children. With Ryan to come soon, I am now very happy to announce the cachet for our daughter Amanda Beth Collins. Collins #K3201 - $12.25.

A VERY SPECIAL TRIP

During the last twenty years, I have journeyed throughout all fifty states and Canada. My travels have included trips to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. But all of the trips combined were not as important as the one I made in March 1982 to El Salvador. It was then that Amanda and Ryan became part of our family.

Linda and I had been blessed with a daughter, Rebecca, and son, Timothy. We decided that we would like to have a larger family, and, with many of the children in the world in need of a stable and loving environment, we decided on adoption. At that time, a civil war was raging in El Salvador, caiusing that country to be in a state of turmoil and social upheaval. Many children there needed homes.

A brother and sister were soon located who were in need of a new family just as we were hoping to expand ours. They were two and three years old, and we fell in love with them as soon as we saw their pictures. Our New Jersey social agency worked with a similar one in El Salvador as well as the U.S. Embassy there. A home study was conducted and paperwork was completed. Everything was approved.

The day finally arrived, and before dawn I was on my way to the airport. No covers were with me on this trip, but I did carry a toy truck and small doll as well as a few items of children's clothing. Linda wanted very much to go along but had been advised against it because El Salvador was a dangerous place at that time. Even the airline- ticket agent was surprised to see my destination as few people were traveling there. She wished me luck.

Upon arrival, I was struck by the number of heavily armed soldiers patrolling the airport terminal. They were everywhere. After passing through customs, I found a dilapidated taxi for the fairly long drive to the capital city of San Salvador. Along the road, we would occasionally pass a military patrol, and at each bridge or key point, a small guard detail was evident. The abject poverty of the country came into immediate focus because many residents had dug earthen caves in the hillsides bordering the road and were living in them.

I met with a representative of the agency responsible for the children. He gave me some paperwork and the address of the El Salvador Court of Minors where I was scheduled to go the next morning. That night, in anxious anticipation, I didn't sleep much.

Our new son and daughter were cute beyond belief. I only wished that Linda could have been there to enjoy the happy moment. Ryan was delighted with his red, blue, and yellow truck, and Amanda hugged her soft and cuddly doll. The administrative process was extremely slow as is typical for bureaucracies worldwide. I waited on a porch-like veranda where Amanda sat on my lap and Ryan played with his truck. It was a long, hot day in the tropics. At last the paperwork was complete, and it was official. The Collins family instantly grew from four to six. A little over a year later, we were overjoyed when Christina was born and our family was complete.

At the airport, checking in was a matter of routine, but I was anxious to get in the air. In a troubled country, anything could happen. As the plane lifted off the runway, I breathed a long sigh of relief. The three of us were going home.