What’s One Thing Your Child Should Never Do? Here’s The Answer.

Michelle Madrid-Branch / May 5, 2020May 6, 2020 / Adoptee, Adoption Advocacy, Blog, Foster Care Advocacy, Foster Youth Advocacy, Inspiration, Life Coach, Michelle Madrid-Branch, Motherhood, Orphan Advocacy

My daughter, Evi, and I watched Little Women this past weekend. It’s been on our must-see list for a while. On Saturday, we set aside an evening for mommy/daughter movie night. We snuggled on the couch, pulled two comfy throws over our laps, and started the film.

I didn’t know if my girl, who’s ten, could follow the storyline but I was willing to take a chance. I wanted to introduce her to this classic story of the March sisters. From the very first scene, Evi was completely engaged in the lives of Jo, Amy, Meg, and Beth.

The Truth About A Conversation With My Mom

Michelle Madrid-Branch / April 22, 2020 / Adoptee, Adoption Advocacy, Blog, Foster Care Advocacy, Foster Youth Advocacy, Inspiration, Life Coach, Michelle Madrid-Branch, Motherhood, Orphan Advocacy

Early last week, I found a recording that I’d forgotten about. It’s a conversation I had with my mother when I was a freshman in college. I wanted to hear what my mom shared on that cassette tape, so I ordered a cassette player on Amazon.

It felt like Christmas when the package arrived! I opened the box and smiled at the bubblegum pink color I’d chosen. I carefully placed the tape inside the player and hit the play button.

Mom passed away in 2016, so it was emotional to hear her speak. She talked about wanting to live long enough to see that I could make it on my own. Then, she said, “I think I’ve lived that long because I feel that you could take care of yourself. I think I’ve brought you up to that point. For you, I want everything to be good and for you to never be unhappy, but that’s unrealistic, isn’t it?”

6 Practical Health Choices to Keep You Strong During COVID-19

Michelle Madrid-Branch / March 26, 2020March 31, 2020 / Adoptee, autoimmunity, Blog, Inspiration, Life Coach, Michelle Madrid-Branch

I learn so much from the meaningful conversations I have with my guests on The Greater Than Podcast. I know—perhaps now more than ever—that we need each other. COVID-19 has slowed the world down. The coronavirus pandemic is real. It has, understandably, made a lot of people feel uncertain and afraid.

The response to the virus has also brought people together. Families, who haven’t connected in weeks and months, are sitting around a table and breaking bread. They’re playing board games and becoming familiar with each other, again.

Strangers are emerging on their balconies and creating symphonies of music with neighbors they’ve never met. Balcony-to-balcony they’re finding new ways to connect because humans crave connection. We need it!

Your Big, Beautiful Story: A 3-Step Technique To Help You Live It

Michelle Madrid-Branch / February 28, 2020March 5, 2020 / Adoptee, Adoption Advocacy, Blog, Foster Care Advocacy, Foster Youth Advocacy, Inspiration, Life Coach, Michelle Madrid-Branch, Orphan Advocacy

“If I don’t give this work my all, I’m stealing from those who need my message the most.” It was a seismic shift in my mindset! Moving from being apprehensive to share my story to being 100% determined to share my story, and doing everything possible to make that happen.

It feels like, in the world today, we are prone to devalue our stories—our big, beautiful, important stories. In other words, I think we too easily lean toward silencing our voices. We tell ourselves that we don’t have anything important to say. What could someone like me possibly have to offer?

Life: Why It’s Worth the Journey

Michelle Madrid-Branch / January 31, 2020February 4, 2020 / Adoptee, Adoption Advocacy, autoimmunity, Blog, Breast Implants, Explant, Foster Care Advocacy, Foster Youth Advocacy, Inspiration, Life Coach, loving well, Michelle Madrid-Branch, Motherhood, Orphan Advocacy, breast implant illness

“There are a million reasons why people feel broken.” This comment, shared in an email, caused me to sit back in my chair and reflect for several minutes.

“Are there really a million reasons why people can find themselves shattered and on the floor?” I asked. “That seems overwhelming….”

My friend replied, “There are people who grew up in stable, but unloving homes. People abandoned in marriage. People who never found love. People rejected for all sorts of reasons that have left them feeling worthless.”

The Blessings of a Scar, by David Michael Barnett

Michelle Madrid-Branch / January 23, 2020January 22, 2020 / Adoptee, Adoption Advocacy, Faith, Foster Care Advocacy, Inspiration, Orphan Advocacy, Quilt of Life

Scars are signatures of painful events in the life of our bodies. They are a reminder that informs us that we are not always in control of our lives. I have many scars. Scars on my hands from bee stings received while playing hide and seek; a scar on the lower right side of my abdomen created by a surgeon’s scalpel to remove an angry appendix; and a scar on my left arm as a result of being “cleated” while playing football.

Of all my scars, I have a favorite, the scar on my left knee. When I was almost three years old, I was running through the house and tripped and fell on my sister’s toy sewing machine. It was made from metal and had a sharp edge on the base. The gash was severe, and the blood began to flow. My father took a sheet, began ripping it, and wrapped my knee to stop the bleeding. What I remember most was sitting in his lap with my mummified leg, being comforted by his big hands. I will never forget his hands. Those hands are forever etched into my memory as a visual reminder of my father’s love.

Beneath My Breasts: My Thoughts, Three Days Post-Explant

Michelle Madrid-Branch / January 16, 2020 / Adoptee, autoimmunity, Blog, Breast Implants, Explant, Inspiration, Life Coach, Michelle Madrid-Branch

“Michelle, you’re back.” I heard the gentle words of my post-op nurse, Michele, waking me up after my 4-hour procedure, in Cleveland, Ohio. I recall that, in our early morning pre-surgery preparations, she and I had teased each other about the best spelling of our given names. Is a one-L or two-L spelling the best? We laughed and agreed to disagree.

I remember walking into the operating room and being assisted by another amazing nurse, Karla, as she directed me onto the table, positioning my arms in an extended position—outward from my body. The anesthesiologist began placing an IV in my left arm and instructed me to think of a beautiful and peaceful place where I would want to spend the next several hours, while under anesthesia. I told her, immediately, that my peaceful destination would be Butterfly Beach, in Montecito, California. Four hours later, in what seemed like four minutes, I was being nursed back to consciousness and away from my favorite beach, by nurse Michele.

Three Words That Bring Me Back to Joy: No Matter What Life’s Jungle Offers Up

Michelle Madrid-Branch / August 30, 2019August 30, 2019 / Adoptee, Blog, Inspiration, Life Coach, loving well, Michelle Madrid-Branch

Ever had one of those days when you say these words to yourself: “It’s just all too much!” Do you know what I mean?

That was my day on Monday. My daughter was diagnosed with pink eye and I couldn’t find a sitter to stay with her while I went to the pharmacy. After all, who wants to risk getting pink eye?

So, my girl had to ride along with me to the pharmacist. The wait to fill her eye drop prescription was slow. Like, at a snail’s pace kind of slow. I found myself anxiously counting the seconds on the clock.

I had writing deadlines edging closer and meetings to attend. I was also scheduled, on Monday, for chelation IV treatment for heavy metal poisoning (not something I could reschedule). Back at the house, the family washing machine went on the blink. My daughter’s bunny needed hay, and my younger son needed someone to plan his birthday celebration. On top of that, I was solo-parenting for the week which makes the juggle even more complicated!

Greetings from Greece: Adoptees And The Gift Of A Fuller Story

Michelle Madrid-Branch / June 20, 2019 / Adoptee, Adoption Advocacy, Blog, Diversity, Inspiration, Love, Michelle Madrid-Branch

When I was a little international adoptee, my parents would take the family traveling and camping through Europe. My dad refurbished an old VW van that he purchased in the United Kingdom. He and my mother would pack it up and off we’d go exploring!

Everywhere we went, it seemed I’d be claimed by the locals there. In Italy, folks would say, “Surely, she’s Italian.” The Greeks would add, “She’s one of us!” I was a European girl growing up in an American family. There’s both bitter and sweet in that statement.

Adoptees and the Journey of Finding Belonging

Michelle Madrid-Branch / May 9, 2019May 9, 2019 / Adoptee, Adoption Advocacy, Blog, Foster Care Advocacy, Foster Youth Advocacy, Inspiration, Michelle Madrid-Branch

I openly welcome questions by individuals in our community of adoption and foster care who ask about my experiences as an international adoptee.

Questions of how those experiences have formed my identity, directed my relationships, and shaped my view of the world around me.

Recently, I was posed three meaningful questions to explore, which I will do in my next three blogposts. The first question is from Oleg Lougheed, international adoptee and founder of Overcoming Odds.

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